A Kiss in the Dark
by Seven-Bridges
Summary: During a blackout, Sanji got suddenly kissed by an unknown man. Who was it? ZoSan, modern AU
1. Chapter 1: A Kiss in the Dark

_So... this is the promised in-between three-parter._

_Despite the rating being T, it will have some sex but I wanted it to be readable for younger readers and those who aren't comfortable with my explicit writing, so I'm planning to cut it out and publish it as a PWP one-shot later._

_And speaking of one-shots: I'm coming to like the world in this fic, so I might be writing more about it later... I still need time to plot that BIG fic, I'm working on, so that might be good to pass the time XD_

_ I'll try to update this one once a week but I'm in the middle of exams, so I can't promise anything.  
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_Anyway, please enjoy and I would love to hear what you think afterwards!_**  
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_**Disclaimer: **Last time I looked, I wasn't a slightly crazy, Japanese man, so... nope, don't own it. Eiichiro Oda does ;)_

_**Notes: **_

_bentō = Japanese lunch boxes_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 1: A Kiss in the Dark<strong>

Sanji's eyes were wide as he felt hot lips and a warm, hard body pressed against him. Held against the elevator's walls, the railing digging in his back, his wrists in a tight lock on either sides of his head, he stood there completely still, rigid with shock.

A few seconds before, a sudden blackout had stopped the elevator and turned out the lights, leaving its occupants in the dark and robbing him of his sight. His other senses were working overtime, as the unknown person's lips moved against his, using Sanji's gasp of surprise to push a hot tongue into his mouth. Sanji moaned quietly against those lips, the taste and hardness of the other body feeling strangely familiar and unbelievably exciting. His hands stopped fighting against their hold as he began to return the kiss, lost in the moment and the pleasure the other person (a man it had to be) provided.

Then the lips left as suddenly as they came, the hands let go of his wrists and Sanji had to grab the elevator's railing behind him when his knees began to buckle at the weight they suddenly had to support. The lights turned back on as the elevator began to move with a shudder and Sanji found himself facing five unconcerned looking men.

"Ah, finally... thought we were stuck here. Are you alright, Sanji? Your face is all red..." he heard Ace say, a frown appearing on his freckled face.

Sanji stared at him as he tried to catch his breath, his lips still tingling from the unexpected assault. He looked at the men behind Ace, who all stared back at him, their faces giving nothing away but slight concern at his dishevelled state...

Who the _hell_ had kissed him just now?

* * *

><p><em>Twenty-four hours before...<em>

Sanji massaged his shoulder as he entered the elevator, lifting his hand in greeting when he saw a grinning Franky nearing it from the other side.

"Rough day?" the blue-haired, bulky man asked after they had stepped inside and the blonde pressed the button to their floor.

"You have no idea," Sanji muttered, thinking back at the day in his foster father's restaurant. "It's like the Baratie became magnet for ill-mannered apes... I've done nothing but throwing out bastards who think they could harass the ladies at our place. That damn idiot Patty lets anyone with money in without even looking at his 'honoured guests'. Damn idiot..." Sanji sighed as he rubbed his sore neck. Being a renowned cook at the tender age of 19, his days were tough for he had not only to cook for his rich and picky clientele but had also to defend his position as sous-chef from the other ambitious and jealous cooks. And now he even fulfilled the position of bouncer on top of everything else. Still, protecting his father's restaurant was part of his job and he loved his work with all his heart.

Franky whistled. He had often been witness of the nights like the blonde had just described and knew what he was talking about. "Sounds like you could need a drink... Wanna go to Shakki's tonight?"

Sanji shook his head. "Nah, think I'll pass. I have been at the Baratie since this morning... All I need is a glass of wine and a nice hot bath for tonight."

"If you go on like that, you'll end up as a hermit, bro. You have to get out once in a while."

Sanji smiled at the man. He might not look it with those big star tattoos on his arms, his light blue hair and the questionable affinity to wear speedos instead of proper pants, but Franky always had only the best in mind for his friends. He was the adoptive brother of Iceburg, owner of a giant business called 'the Galley-La Company'. They did business in all kinds of places, mainly in craftsmanship but they also owned a couple of restaurants. Zeff, Sanji's adoptive father, had known Iceburg for years and when the Baratie had been in trouble, he became Zeff's partner in name only. He invested quite a lot of money in their restaurant for little to no profit, saying he would do anything to keep his favourite place running.

And to eat fantastic food for free every day. It happened often that Iceburg neglected his work, called off his meetings even, to visit the Baratie, only to be dragged off by his bombshell of a secretary again. Kalifa... it had been a while since Sanji had thought about her and with relief, he realised he felt only a slight twinge in his heart when he did. It had been a year since their break-up but he still found it hard to accept... especially seeing as she was the right hand of the man he was so greatly indebted to and they saw each other practically every day.

Even the place Sanji was currently staying in belonged to Iceburg. It was a building that housed most of the company's important employees and stood right next to Galley-La's main building, making it possible for them to get to work whenever they were needed. Franky himself was head of Galley-La's shipbuilding branch and had to work at ungodly hours, whenever something didn't work out one hundred percent and his assistance was needed.

Sanji, on the other hand, was one of the big exceptions. Being fed up with living together with his old man over the restaurant (and being kicked awake every damn day), he had been searching for a cheap place to live in. When Franky had heard about this, he had suggested to his brother to let Sanji live in the free space next to his flat. The cook had refused at first, not wanting to rely on Iceburg even more than he already was, but was soon convinced when Franky suggested he could make bentō for him and his team whenever they had to do extra shifts and thus practically became a part of the team.

Living in the Galley-La apartment building, lovingly called 'the Thousand Sunny' as it provided a lovely view of dawn every morning, had soon proved to be like living with a big, troublesome family. While it was in no way quieter than over at the Baratie (the Monkey brothers who lived above him loved to play wrestle and out of Usopp's flat under him often came sounds of small explosions, not to mention the firefighter's signal horn whenever said explosions were accompanied by a whisk of thick smoke), Sanji still felt more comfortable than he had ever had in his life. His gentlemanly attitude and talents in cooking had always set him apart from other boys, making him an outcast in all of his school life and beyond.

The Galley-La Company, on the other hand, seemed to consist of people like him... people who were different than most others and excelled in unusual hobbies and talents.

Sanji had soon felt at home at this strange place and grew fond of everyone living there, no matter how strange and unusual they were... _almost_ everyone. When things went well in life then there was usually something ruining it a little bit... like a small black point on an otherwise white sheet of paper.

The cook groaned when the elevator stopped at the seventh floor and the doors opened to reveal a gruff looking, green-haired man. The black point of his life.

"Nice to see you, too, shitty cook," the man grumbled at Sanji's reaction, stepping in to stand beside Franky.

The green-haired man was Sanji's childhood... well, _rival_ you could say: Roronoa Zoro. Until he had gotten a job at Galley-La, he had lived in the dojo next to the Baratie that was owned by the father of Zoro's childhood friend Kuina. The man had taken Zoro in when his parents had died in a car crash and taught Zoro all he knew about swordsmanship.

Unfortunately, he was also Zeff's best friend and so Sanji often had to spend time with Zoro. They never got along and fought against each other whenever they could. Be it fighting, racing, or goldfish catching, they had competed in every area possible and _always_ ended it with a tie.

Zoro was the one person, Sanji wanted to beat, the one person he had set as his goal... and he hated the guy's guts.

"Shut up, moss-head! No one would be happy to see that ugly mug of yours..."

When Zoro scowled, Franky held up his hands. "Now, now, don't fight," he said, looking nervously from one man to the other. Everyone in the Sunny knew about Zoro and Sanji's relationship. Gifted with unbelievable strength and unusual fighting styles (one with three swords, the other with his feet only), they were known for starting to fight over the most ridiculous things... and to destroy half the building in the process. While Usopp's experiments, Franky's robot building, Chopper's chemical researches and the Monkeys' madness usually had disastrous impacts on their home, they were nothing against those two's matches. If Sanji and Zoro were to go all out in a small place like this, Franky was sure he wouldn't survive. As spacious as the elevator was, it couldn't hold a full-fledged war.

Seeing the blue-haired man's desperate and pleading look, Sanji shrugged and crossed his arms, looking anywhere but at Zoro, satisfied when the other man apparently decided to do the same.

Franky sighed in relief when the elevator had reached their floor, unable to endure the tension between the two men any longer.

"Well, see you tomorrow, bro," he said, waving to the green-haired man and dragging the blonde out with him before the doors closed behind them.

"Damn! When will you two finally realise it's a good romp in the bed that you need, huh?" Franky said to Sanji who glared back.

"If I weren't a gentleman, I would tell you exactly what kind of a night I had yesterday. I don't need to get laid, thank you very much!" the blonde said while taking out his keys and fumbling them in his door's lock. "It's that damn fool who needs some action, anyway. The bastard probably doesn't even know what a woman's naked body looks like." Sanji turned his key and after a satisfying click, opened the door to his apartment. "Now, if you'll excuse me... I've got a rendezvous with a good glass of Merlot. 'Night." He closed the door behind him with a loud bang that made Franky jump.

Scratching his head, the blue-haired man looked quizzically at the place Sanji had just vanished into. "I meant a good romp with _each other, _you know," Franky said to no one in particular and shrugging, he turned to enter his own apartment.

* * *

><p>Zoro leaned his head against the cool surface of the elevator's doors, groaning at yet another fail. Why did he always end up fighting with the blond idiot? He was sick and tired of it! All he had to do was to look at Sanji in a certain way and the blonde was immediately at his throat... not to mention that Zoro even took sick pleasure in riling the man up on purpose.<p>

The past year, Zoro had given his all to improve their relationship, had tried to be _nice_ to the blonde, tried to stop pissing him off, but... all had been in vain. In fact, it seemed Sanji even took Zoro's improved attitude as yet another insult.

What was he supposed to do if the cook didn't even give him a chance?

He had even tried to get advice from Ace, his co-worker, at some point. Despite his carefree attitude, rivalled only by that of the wandering catastrophe, he called his brother, Ace had the uncanny ability to find solutions for the most devastating of problems... he had even managed to get Franky to wear _pants_ for meetings! A thing not even Nico Robin, archaeologist and Franky's girlfriend, managed to do and she was the most persuasive woman Zoro knew... her methods even went way below the belt. Although, judging by Franky's perverted nature, he might have even liked the mistreatment of his balls that time. No one could say that for sure.

Nevertheless, the accomplishment of Franky wearing pants over his speedos was a damn miracle! Even more disappointing was the advice Ace had had for Zoro...

"_You shouldn't do anything, mate. Just be your charming self and Sanji will get around eventually. He might act like he hates you but I know that's just for show. Once he gets his head around this whole rivalry thing, he will realise that you are the best friend he has and maybe more..."_

Zoro resisted the urge to bang his head against the metal wall in front of him as he remembered those words. He was supposed to be his _'charming self'_? What the hell? If he _had_ a charming side, would he even _be_ in this situation?

The doors opened with a ping and revealed the corridor to Zoro's apartment. Sighing, the green-haired man took out his keys and went to the third door. Just as he had the key in the lock, he heard hurried footsteps and a cry of joy.

Eyes widening, Zoro fumbled with the lock, trying to get the damn thing opened before-

"ZOROOOOOOO! YOU'RE HOOOOOOOOME!" came the primal cry of a monkey and the loud bang of a door was the only warning he had, before Zoro was tackled to the ground by a knot of arms and legs.

"What the hell, Luffy? Get off!" he yelled, pushing against the young man plastered to his body.

"Don't wanna!" Luffy pouted, tightening his arms and legs around Zoro and making him first gasp in surprise then groan in pain. The boy had ungodly strength. "I'm cold and you're warm... stupid Ace broke the heater again."

A low chuckle made Zoro aware of the other Monkey brother standing in the doorway. "_I_ broke the heater? Whose idea was it to see what would happen if you showered it with that green goo, Usopp invented, hm?"

Luffy pursed his lips. "You didn't stop me so it's your fault..."

Shaking his head at his brother's logic, Ace looked down at the now purple looking man. The arms around him seemed to cut off Zoro's windpipe. "Luffy, I think you're killing Zoro there..."

Luffy cocked his head as he looked at the man beneath him and loosened the hold of his arms around Zoro's neck and the legs around his torso enough so he wouldn't crack any more ribs than he probably already had. "Sorry, Zoro! Forgot how fragile you are! Shishishishishi!"

"Fragile?" Zoro bristled. "You could kill a damn elephant with your hugs!" Finally managing to push Luffy off him, Zoro stood up, put a hand on his back and leaned backwards. After hearing a satisfying crack that made Luffy and Ace flinch, he looked at them with a raised eyebrow. "What are you guys doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be with your Grandpa today?"

When both of them put on matching expressions of innocence, Zoro had a pretty good idea of why they were back early.

"We sorta pissed off an important government lady and Grandpa threw us out... said we would start a war if we stayed any longer," Luffy said with a big grin. It was obvious he wasn't sorry at all about all that.

"Well, it's not our fault. I told him it wouldn't be a good idea to have Luffy accompany us for tea, but of course he didn't listen. He is still dead set on having him become a politician. Can you believe that?" Ace asked Zoro. They both looked at the younger Monkey and Luffy just had to choose this moment to pick his nose.

Shaking his head, Zoro said, "Garp-san's head is as hard as yours... I'm not really surprised. By the way, what lady did you meet this time?" Monkey D. Garp was an important government representative and always had to meet with other important politicians. Those meetings usually led to some very interesting stories as he was just as eccentric as his grandsons.

"Dunno... we didn't really get to the introduction. She brought her four dogs along and... well, Luffy wanted to play."

"Shishishishi! They had short legs and looked sooo funny! One bit me when I wanted to cuddle it," the young boy said, showing the battle wound on his hand proudly.

Staring at the bite marks, cogs in Zoro's head began to wheel. Tea? Four bad-tempered dogs? It couldn't be... "Say... that lady didn't happen to be a queen, did she?"

"Could be, dunno... She spoke some rapid English but we were thrown out before I could understand anything," Ace said, shrugging.

Gaping at the clueless men in front of him, Zoro wondered not for the first time how the grandsons of a family made of government representatives could be _that_ clueless about the political world. Then again, the Monkey brothers seemed to live in their own little world that consisted of adventures, games and parties. Sometimes Zoro wished he had even a bit of their carefree attitude... it would make handling the cook a whole lot easier.

Feeling his heart sink again as his thoughts revolved around the blonde, Zoro nearly jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Wanna come in for a bit? We can talk... you met Sanji again, didn't you?" Ace asked softly, squeezing his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell?"

"That's easy, babe. You've got that lost look in your eyes again... Come on in."

Realising all fighting would be in vain at that point, Zoro pulled out the key that still stuck in his lock and let Luffy pull him into their home.

"So, you met Sanji? Did you play? He always plays with me when I steal food," Luffy said after plopping down on the couch in their spacious living room.

"Luffy, blondie trying to kick your thick head in is _not_ playing," Ace said, dropping down beside his brother and ruffling his hair.

"Shishishi, it's fun, though."

Sitting down in an arm chair, Zoro scrutinised Luffy with a stern look. "We didn't play, Luffy. He got pissed at my existence and that was it. How am I supposed to act if he already scowls at me for breathing the same air as him?" he asked, directing his question at Ace.

Ace gave him a long look before turning to his brother. "Luffy, could you go to Usopp's for a while? Zoro and I need some time alone."

Luffy made a face. "You're not gonna make out again, are you? I thought you and Marco were-"

"That only happened once and no, I won't cheat on him. I just want to talk."

"Alright, but you're the one who tells Franky about the heater later!"

"...Yeah, alright. Just go."

After seeing Luffy closing the door behind him, Ace turned around to see Zoro grinning at him in a very disturbing way. "What?" he asked angrily. He knew that grin too well...

"You and Marco, eh? Whatever happened to you being just 'friends'?"

Ace blushed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "That... it just sort of happened. You can say that he swept me off my feet..."

"What? Did he appear on your doorstep with a bunch of roses or something?"

Ace snorted. "Don't be ridiculous! I meant that literally. We were sparring, he threw me on my back and... the clothes sorta... vanished..."

"Vanished, huh?" Zoro asked, amused at his explanation. "You a magician now?"

"Oh, shut up! I wanted to talk about _you, _not me. Hasn't there been any change at all?"

Zoro threw up his hands. "How could there be? Sanji hates me, hates everything _about_ me. He _always_ did! It's not like I have a chance with him, anyway. You know what kind of a womaniser he is."

"Well, I also know that you guys fucked after my birthday party in the Baratie last year," Ace said, remembering the day as if it had happened yesterday. He remembered how happy Zoro had been, only to find out hours later that Sanji had been so drunk out of his mind that he lost all memory of it. "He really doesn't remember anything at all?"

"Nothing... and if he does, then he is a pretty good actor. That doesn't count, anyway."

"He knew who you were when you did it, Zoro. He called you marimo, didn't he?"

Zoro blushed deeply as he remembered that night. The way the blonde in his arms had arched his back in pleasure and moaned his nickname in such an enticing way... it made him hard just thinking about it.

Zoro shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Ace, if he ever _does_ remember, he will only kick my head in. I sure as hell can't expect a reaction more positive than that... I more or less took advantage of him."

"The person you've been in love with for over ten years practically threw himself at you... no one would've been able not to respond to that. Besides, Sanji isn't really the kind of person you can take advantage of..."

"But he wouldn't have done anything if he had been sober! And damn it, I should have more control over my fucking body! What do you think I'm doing all this training for?"

"Zoro, you're the strongest person I know. One little moment of lacking control when facing a situation like yours is _not_ weakness. Every other person would've broken under the pressure."

Sighing, the green-haired man ran a hand through is hair. "That's just it... I don't know how long I can go on like this. I just have to see him and... I can barely control myself. If Franky hadn't been in the elevator just now, I probably would've smashed him against the wall and-... and-"

"Maybe you should do just that," Ace said and Zoro stared at him. "You never know... he might like it."

"Yeah, right... he likes it just before he kills me."

"You know, I sometimes don't get you, man. You're a damn death machine in tournaments. Whoever your opponent, you go into the fight with that manic smile... but whenever love is concerned, you're an emotional wrack! Why do you have to be so negative?"

"Ten years, Ace. Ten damn years... how the hell am I supposed to be positive now? Sometimes... sometimes I think it would be good to leave, to just pack my things and try my luck somewhere else."

Ace looked shocked. "You can't be serious, Zoro! This is your home!"

"Yeah, but I just can't concentrate any more! I want to be the best! The fucking best! I want to beat Mihawk in a real fight without those judges and damn safety rules! What do you think I've been messing with his goons for? Maybe... maybe he will come to find me soon and I'll be finally able to beat him. But I can't do that if all I think about is _him_!"

Ace held up his hands after Zoro's rant had ended. "Woah, calm down, man! I get you, but... Mihawk is _here_ somewhere. How do you want to fight him if you aren't here?"

"I-... I don't know. Maybe I'll go travelling for a while... get some more experience from fighting other big shots like Daz Bones or... or... Ryuma even. I heard he is in Japan again. Still runs around looking like a samurai from the feudal era but he is supposed to have great skill. And, well, I guess we all are a bit crazy in these field... using real swords and all."

Zoro chuckled, a low humourless laugh, and Ace could see how tired and worn out he was. His seemingly unrequited love sat heavy on his shoulders, dragging him down into depths of hell and beyond. Since two years ago, Ace knew about Zoro's feelings and had been there for him while the man grew more and more restless and desperate. If he thought Zoro could be happier if he just did as he said and left this place to travel, then Ace would support his decision in a heartbeat... but as it was, he would end up here, anyway, if he ever wanted to beat Mihawk and Sanji who dreamed of beating Zoro would probably dislike him even more for leaving... or he would at least act as if he did.

Ace sighed. Every employee of Galley-La Company had basic fighting abilities. Iceburg insisted a healthy body to be invaluable if you wanted to do good work and so included two gyms in the apartment building. No one complained about the training as all of them had great fun sparring with each other. Zoro, as the only swordsmen among them, trained mostly with weights and had a hard time to find opponents he could go all out against. Sanji was the only one who managed to hold his own against him (and no one ever got how he actually managed to fight three swords with mere _shoes... _it was a mystery in and of itself) but that made everything even more complicated. Zoro wanted to get along with Sanji, Sanji wanted to beat Zoro, Zoro fought Sanji to have a real sparring partner and Sanji was being angry at Zoro and at himself because they always ended it in another tie. And Franky cried crocodile tears because of the damage they had done to their Sunny.

The same damn circle every fucking time.

He understood Zoro's frustration with this whole situation but couldn't brush off the feeling that Sanji felt the same way... he always had this fire in his eyes when he looked at his green-haired friend, a fire no one else was able to provoke and that had nothing to do with rivalry.

Wanting to at least be of _some_ help to his friend, Ace racked his brain for solutions. "Zoro..." he began slowly. "...can't you fight Brook or Kaku? I know they are nowhere near your level when it comes to sword-fighting, but they've got some skill." He knew Brook, a musician who often played in the Baratie, had been studying swordsmanship in his earlier years and sometimes still trained with willing opponents. And Kaku, one of Franky's shipwrights, even won in some tournaments before joining Galley-La. Though, he preferred to fight with his legs these days and often had sparring matches with Sanji.

"I know Brook is good, but it's too dangerous! He needs his hands to be a musician and I could end up hurting him. As for Kaku..." Zoro's eyes darkened. "I won't ask him."

Ace frowned. "I still don't get why you don't like him... he is a nice guy, you know?"

Zoro turned his head to avoid Ace's eyes, jaw tense as he pursed his lips and Ace had to grin. He was the very picture of stubbornness. "I've got my reasons. Leave it at that," the swordsman said and the freckled man decided to heed his wish but planned to look into the strange reaction to Kaku's name later.

"As you wish, oh fearless master of the sword!" Ace said grinning before standing up and bowing mockingly.

Zoro growled, Ace chuckled.

"Wanna have a beer, Zoro? Nothing better than a good buzz to forget your blonde for a while..." The freckled man stood up, already expecting an affirmative answer, seeing as the swordsman _never_ turned down free alcohol. Even more surprised he was, when Zoro shook his head.

"No, I've got an appointment tonight... gotta go now."

Ace frowned. An appointment at ten at night could only mean one thing... "You're going to fight again? Zoro, you've been doing this for the whole week! Together with your work at Galley-La... your body won't be able to keep up with that."

"It has to if I want to become stronger... See you later, Ace."

And with that, Zoro walked out of the door... leaving his worried friend behind.

* * *

><p>Sanji dried his hair with a towel, a glass of wine in his free hand as he stepped out onto the small balcony of his apartment. When it was dry enough, he hanged the towel around his shoulders and went to the edge of the balcony, laying his arms on the railing and taking a sip of his wine.<p>

"Ah, that's the stuff..." Sanji sighed as the familiar taste of Merlot exploded on his tongue. He watched the still active city, taking in the dancing lights and sounds of a busy Friday night. Hundreds of people would be out right now: dancing, drinking, searching for a partner for the night... and Sanji wasn't one of them.

Sighing, he thought about Franky's earlier invitation. He would have accepted immediately if it wasn't for the early shift, he would have at the Baratie the very next day... but as it was, he had to go to bed early, already knowing his old man would work him hard the next day. That shitty old geezer... he had been doing this for weeks now! Giving Sanji one early shift after the other ever since he had heard from Patty about his nightly adventures... damn bastard! Telling the geezer something that leads him to think, Sanji was wasting his life away!

And he had lied to Franky as well. He hadn't seen some action for weeks now and the blonde was slowly getting desperate.

He just didn't want to admit to Franky that he had been right... _god_, he needed to get laid! It was all Sanji was able to think about lately.

After Kalifa, he had had quite a few wild months... drinking enormous amounts of alcohol and waking up next to different woman every morning. Of course, he had been nothing but a gentleman... even intoxicated, Sanji knew he would treat a woman as nothing else than the jewel she was. And he always knew when to stop drinking... he knew his limits, damn it! Alright, he might have overdone it the day when Kalifa broke it off, the day of Ace's birthday party last year. All he remembered of that day was that he ended up drinking with Zoro of all people. Well, at least that guy was a great drinking buddy... pissed off when he found out Sanji didn't remember anything of that night for whatever reason, though.

Sanji snorted.

The marimo was probably just pissed because he had to take care of him and Sanji didn't remember anything about that later. Damn bastard... maybe he thought he could use it against him or something.

But back to the real problem: getting laid.

Damn... how was he supposed to get any like this? Messing with his shifts like Sanji was a little boy who needed a good spanking was completely uncalled for! Shitty old geezer... damn bastard Patty... stupid marimo for... for... _anything_.

Sanji looked down as he registered movement below. His curled eyebrow rose as he watched the marimo leave the building, three long and clothed objects in his hands. Well, speaking of the devil... Was the damn bastard going to fight again? Not that it concerned Sanji... not really. He only worried about his dear Nami-swan and Robin-chwan who had expressed their fear of the idiot getting hurt.

Sanji knew, Zoro was frequently going out to fight a street gang with his mad santoryu fighting style. Having the same circle of friends unavoidably led to him hearing discussions about the marimo, whether he wanted to or not. And Koshiro-san, Zoro's sensei had talked to Zeff as well about this matter.

It seemed everyone was strangely concerned of the bastard getting himself killed... a thought that seemed as ridiculous to Sanji as Luffy announcing, he would be fasting for the next three weeks. Honestly, the cook didn't think that damn swordsman even knew how to die... he seemed too stupid for that!

If it had been any other person, though, Sanji would have been worried as well. He had heard how strong that street gang was and especially their leader was widely known among fighters. Several police investigations had tried to prove Mihawk's involvement in the increasing number of crimes in the city... none of them turning anything up. And still everyone knew he was the leader... no one else could lead a street gang using real swords as weapons. Not to mention that Mihawk was known to kill men simply for disturbing his nap!

Although... Zoro could be the leader of such a group as well. Sanji hated to admit it, but the marimo was damn skilled with his three toothpicks. He was too good to tell anyone to commit crimes, though. He was the type to fight them instead and used the experience as training... not to mention that he hoped to lure Mihawk out that way.

"What an idiot..." Sanji mumbled as he took out a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his pyjama pants. Taking his lighter out of the other pocket, he lit one of the cigs and breathed in, filling his lungs with the toxic, yet soothing smoke.

No, Sanji wasn't worried.

He wasn't worried a pack of cigarettes later, when he still stood on that shitty balcony and Zoro wasn't back yet. Neither did he worry when he realised an hour had gone by or when he rushed to the door, threw on his coat, stepped inside his waiting shoes and ran out of his apartment to search for the idiot.

He wasn't worried at all.

* * *

><p>Zoro blinked rapidly as he tried to see through the stream of blood that was running down his face. There were so many... way too many. It was like all the elite fighters of the kendo street gang had waited for him to get his head.<p>

He dodged two of the swordsmen rushing at him, using the back of his swords to knock them out. Another three came up to his back and Zoro struck them down without even looking. They were stronger then those thugs who normally strolled through the streets but still no match for him. It was the sheer number of them, however, that made them a threat. Like rats they rushed out into the alleyway, one after the other and there seemed to be no end to them.

They had been going at it for an hour now and Zoro would be able to last several more if it wasn't for that damn head wound he had suffered when several desperate swordsmen had jumped him and his head had collided with a nearby wall.

Now his vision kept to blur and the blood dripping in his eyes was a bitch.

Dodging another attack, Zoro whirled around, his blades slashing down and disarming several opponents at once. He stumbled when his surroundings slipped out of focus and he sank to his knees. The whole world seemed to turn as a blade came crushing down out of nowhere, aiming for his head. Suddenly, Zoro remembered Sanji's loathing look from before, remembered ten years of repressed feelings and lonely nights. He shuddered at the memories, all rushing through his head in a mere second and thought this had to be what dying was like. Still refusing even death to defeat him, Zoro tried to lift his arms, tried to defend against the coming blow, but they wouldn't move. Realising, his body wouldn't listen to him in time, Zoro closed his eyes, waiting for the impact to come.

A gash of wind and the sound of a familiar voice were what woke him out of his stupor.

"What the fuck are you doing, marimo? Get your sorry ass up and fight, damn it!"

Zoro opened his eyes, wide in shock as he saw a man standing in front of him, keeping the blade away from his head with his foot. A breeze blew through golden hair, bright blue eyes shining between the strands of gold, glaring fire at his attacker.

"Angel..." Zoro whispered.

* * *

><p>What the hell was the damn moron doing? Someone was trying to split his shitty head open and he just knelt there, doing nothing to defend himself!<p>

There was a terrible wound on his head, oozing out blood and with a start Sanji realised, the marimo was trembling.

"Damn bastard! Is a wound like that keeping you from fighting? Get the hell up, damn it!" he yelled, kicking down several opponents with a roundhouse kick. He kept his hands in his pockets to protect them from getting hurt. It had been a while since Sanji had fought against swordsmen other than Zoro but none of them could even compare to the green-haired man.

When the marimo still kept staring at him, Sanji wanted to give him a kick or two to wake him up, but just as he was ready to spurt out another gash of insults, Zoro's face split in a brilliant grin.

Feeling a strange flutter in his stomach, Sanji gaped as new energy seemed to rush into Zoro's body and he jumped to his feet, swords slashing out to disarm ten of the approaching thugs at once.

Smugly, he looked at the cook. "Who defeats more wins," he announced, a manic glint lighting up his eyes.

Sanji grinned in spite of himself. Figures the idiot would make a competition out of this. "You're on, shithead!"

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes later, they stood panting in the middle of unconscious gang members, grinning like idiots.<p>

"I've had 134, you?" Sanji said, fumbling at his cloak before realising, he had forgotten his cigarettes at home.

Zoro lifted an eyebrow. "Same. Tie again, shitty cook."

Sanji groaned. "Why does it _always_ end like this?"

"Dunno... but there is something, I've been wondering about... what the hell are you doing out here?"

Sanji snorted, an excuse ready ever since he ran out of his door. "What reason _could_ there be? I was out of cigarettes, so I went to buy some when I saw you getting your ass handed to you."

Completely ignoring his insult, Zoro replied, "Buying cigarettes? In your _pyjama_?"

The cook blushed as he looked down at his white pyjama bottoms looking out from under his coat. Damn it... he just had to wear the ones covered in hearts that day!

"S-So what? I didn't want to change."

"A priss like you wouldn't go out like that unless he had to."

Sanji growled. "Alright already, you damn bastard! I was following you, satisfied? I was on the balcony when you went out. I didn't see you come back, so I went to have a look. That good enough for you, moron?"

* * *

><p>Zoro stared at him. "I went out over an hour ago... how long have you been waiting?"<p>

"I wasn't waiting, asshole! I happen to like watching the city with a glass of wine."

"But you were worried..." Zoro said, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Did he dare to hope...? "You... came running after me, because you thought something might have happened, right?"

Sanji glared at him. "You're damn right I was worried!" he started and Zoro's heart skipped a beat. Then the blonde's eyes suddenly turned into hearts and Zoro's own one sank.

_Oh no... please no..._ _don't do this to me... not again._

"I was worried my dear Nami-swan and Robin-chwan would be sad if you got yourself killed. Thanks to their kind hearts, they happen to care about a moron like you and a gentleman like me couldn't bear to see them hurt."

Zoro felt like he had just been hit by a bucket of ice. His insides churned as the cook went on and on with his declarations of love for their two friends and Zoro tried to tune out his words best as he could.

The chill of the night seeped through his bones, as he shuddered and his heart broke for the millionth time in thousands of pieces. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

* * *

><p>Zoro rubbed his shoulder, stiff from a day of tough labour. The memory of the day before when his hope had went up only to be crushed again, still fresh inside his mind, he had asked Franky for any work he could give him. The shipwrights could always use a pair of strong arms to help moving piles of wood or lead, so Zoro, who was known for his ungodly strength, was always a welcome guest. Franky had been puzzled by his desire for work and worried about the bandage on the swordsman's head but was finally persuaded by Zoro's honest plea. So he had spent the day moving stuff until he had felt the satisfying feeling of exhaustion seeping through every cell of his being. There would be no dreams of blond-haired angels that night.<p>

"Zoro, you really alright, bro? You look ready to drop... "

"I'm okay, Franky. Just a nap and I'm as good as new."

Franky shrugged. "If you say so..."

As they entered the Sunny, they saw how the elevator's doors were ready to close and made a run for it.

"Hold it!" Franky yelled.

Ace, who was inside, put his hand between the doors, smiling at them as the elevator opened up again.

"Thanks, mate. That was a close call," Franky said, stepping in to stand beside him. Zoro followed before he saw the other men riding with them. Beside Ace there were Jabra and Kaku, both part of Franky's team, the former having a grin that looked like a wolf while the latter had a strange rectangular long nose. Going further in, Zoro was able to look who stood behind them and immediately froze.

It was Sanji.

Knowing it would be bad to just turn around and run out, Zoro gritted his teeth as the elevator's doors closed, willing his pounding heart to calm.

A few seconds later there was a sudden bang, the elevator stopped with a shudder and they were left in darkness.

Feeling nothing else than his thundering heartbeat, Zoro broke.

* * *

><p><em>Next time: Sanji investigates! Who dared to kiss him in the dark?<em>

_Thank you for reading and please review! :)  
><em>


	2. Chapter 2: Sanji investigates!

_Before I say anything else: THANK YOU! Thank you so much for so many wonderful reviews!_

_I still can't believe it... the first chapter got more reviews than any other I have ever written and you have no idea how happy they made me! Seriously, some had me blushing and giggling like a little schoolgirl with her first crush! XD_

_ So, because of such an awesome response, I have decided to take half a day off to get this out to you. Also, because of me being apparently unable to plan chapters properly, there will be more than three after all. I just wanted to pack too many scenes in one chapter... :/_

_ANYWAY, I really hope you are going to enjoy this chapter as much as the first. _

_Enjoy! :D  
><em>

_**Note:**_

_About the usage of -san: You will be well aware that it is used like our Mr or Mrs and it implies respect for the person, you're speaking to. However, when you use no honorific and simply say the other person's name (like Luffy always does for example) it can mean either disrespect, ill manners or, for people you are close to, a sign of affection. Couples usually don't use honorifics for their significant other, so when they do... you'll see :)_

_I don't like having to explain things in notes, because that usually means I don't do a good job describing, but... the story takes place in Japan and having the narrator explain in Sanji's POV what the lack of -san exactly means won't really do. I tried to hint at it, but just in case... :/_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Sanji investigates! Who dared to kiss him in the dark?<strong>

Sanji rubbed his burning eyes. A yawn escaped his mouth as he watched the clock's hands move slowly forward, the ticking noise never failing to send him in a trance. He had wrapped up a simple breakfast for himself (fried eggs and toast) and now, back leaning against the kitchen counter, he was waiting desperately for the water to boil.

He hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep the night before, his mind going over and over that damn kiss. The cook felt ridiculous for caring so much, for being unable to forget the feeling of those lips, the taste of that tongue, the way his heart had threatened to burst out of his chest. Sanji didn't even care it had been a man who kissed him... he only knew how much he longed for a repeat, how much he wanted to feel those hot lips again.

When Sanji had been with Kalifa, he thought he had been in love, thought she was the one woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. But now that he had had a taste of what a kiss could do to him, he began to wonder... While he had been happy with Kalifa, he had never felt so excited, so _alive_ before. That one little kiss had put every other experience of him into perspective and he would be damned if he didn't find out who did it!

Brow furrowed, Sanji willed his mind to go over every little detail he still remembered from that moment. The hold of the man had been strong... too strong to fight against. The hands holding up his wrists had been covered in calluses, brushing roughly against his skin as he tried to break free. Both hints were rather useless, though.

Sanji's strength was nearly entirely in his legs, so anyone could have held him up against that wall. And everyone in that elevator had to have calluses from their work... apart from Zoro, they were all shipwrights.

Frowning, Sanji went for what felt like the umpteenth time over the other occupants of the elevator. He was pretty sure Franky and Ace could be ruled out. Franky had Robin and was absolutely smitten with her... even if he _would_ be interested in other men, that guy would never kiss anyone else.

As for Ace... Sanji snorted. If that guy had ever felt any desire to kiss him, he would have done so ages ago. He was just that forthright and wouldn't need to wait for a blackout.

Then there had been Jabra, Kaku and... Zoro. Well, Zoro could clearly be ruled out.

That left Jabra and Kaku.

The chin brushing against him as the man's lips moved had been smooth... Sanji didn't feel a beard scratching him during the kiss, so the person couldn't have been Jabra, which left... Kaku? Did Kaku kiss him?

Sanji nearly jumped when the water reached boiling point and his old-fashioned kettle began to whistle. Absent-mindedly, Sanji filled coffee powder into a mug and dashed it with the hot water. Instant coffee... he hated it with a passion but was too tired to care right now.

His mind wandered back to Kaku as he sipped on the scorching drink in his hands, neither bothering to add milk nor to wait until it had reached a comfortable temperature. His burned tongue was already complaining, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

They did spend a lot of time together, Kaku and him... ever since they had begun to train in the gym. But Kaku had never shown any kind of interest in Sanji... or at least not that Sanji had noticed.

He liked Kaku and all but the guy was rather quiet. Not in a shy way or anything. He was just a sort of down to earth guy... one that was all smiles and happy-go-lucky attitude.

At least Kaku was when he wasn't fighting. When facing an opponent, the long-nosed man's personality always seemed to do a 180 and he became a real beast. He attacked relentlessly and didn't hold back... a trait Sanji was appreciating a lot in his sparring partners. Well, and he had a short temper. Whenever someone insulted him, he instantly snapped... especially when said someone was called Jabra and made fun of his nose. Those two were like fire and water... a bit like Zoro and him.

But could Kaku have kissed Sanji? He might be passionate enough about fighting but Sanji doubted Kaku acted the same way when facing a lover instead of an opponent.

Gaze shifting once again to the clock, the cook realised he had barely an hour left until he had to be at the Baratie. Pushing all thoughts of that amazing kiss to the back of his mind, Sanji gulped down his breakfast and rushed to get dressed.

He would be able to look into the matter when he had his scheduled training session with Kaku later that day.

* * *

><p>The midday sun's light shone brightly as Zoro walked down the seemingly endless streets of Water 7. Like a maze, the paths seemed to cross, the high buildings making it near impossible to orientate yourself on known landmarks in the distance. Getting lost was something that happened to Zoro on a daily basis and even twelve years living in the same place did nothing to help his sense of direction.<p>

Brow furrowed, the swordsman looked up to the sky, his eyes and body following a cloud that had moved in the exact same direction his doctor had pointed him to.

Zoro sighed as he realised his ears were still clinging from the lecture, he had just received from one of his dearest friends: Dr. Tony Tony Chopper. While his height normally barely reached Zoro's waist, the small genius doctor always seemed to grow several feet whenever one of his friends got hurt due to carelessness.

Zoro, being the most reckless among all of them (Luffy not counting for that boy had more luck than actual brain and barely ever got hurt), he was the one who had received more lectures than any other... especially as he often chose to refuse his doctor's orders and did horrendous training sessions with injuries other people would be bed-ridden with for days.

The small boy hadn't been amused when he had seen Zoro's makeshift bandages around his head... neither had he been happy to hear how much the swordsman had worked his body the very next day or that he didn't went to see Chopper until over twenty-four hours after he had received the injury.

Chopper, like Sanji, wasn't a real employee from Galley-La. The boy genius, who already was in his last year of medical school despite being only fifteen years old, had lived in the Sunny ever since his adoptive mother and mentor Dr. Kureha went off to join Doctors Without Borders in Africa a year ago. Galley-La employees were rather accident prone, however, and so he often ended up tending to their injuries. He had already signed a contract and would be Galley-La's official doctor once he had finished medical school. Iceburg and Franky had even build him his very own infirmary in the Sunny.

Everyone loved the little brown haired doctor-to-be dearly and kept an eye on him, treating Chopper like their cute little brother. His apartment was next to Usopp's, an arrangement Iceburg began to regret once the explosions on their floor had reached daily occurrence and destroyed not a small amount of furniture.

Sighing, Zoro walked through the streets in what he hoped was the direction of Galley-La's main building. He had been working with Franky again and, after nearly losing consciousness while carrying a ton of lead, he was sent to the hospital where Chopper did his internship right now.

Just when the small, brown-haired boy had finished wrapping Zoro's head in proper bandages, Iceburg had called the swordsman and told him he was in need of a bodyguard to go to a business meeting. Chopper hadn't been amused by Zoro accepting the job, saying he needed at least two days of rest, but Zoro had as always ignored his protests.

While most of his friends were permanently employed at Galley-La, Zoro was the guy for everything, being called in whenever things became tough or Iceburg needed extra protection for an event.

As head of such a big business corporation, Iceburg's life was permanently in danger, making Zoro's services frequently required. His payment was quite good as well and he got to use his swords at times which was the main reason he always took the jobs Iceburg had to offer. While protecting Iceburg and his guests rarely led to interesting fights, it still provided excellent experience in battle and managed to pay his bills.

So now, there he was, following a cloud that had changed direction three times since he had started his way from the hospital... not that Zoro had noticed, of course.

"Roronoa Zoro!"

Zoro froze.

His body fought the instinct to run as he turned around slowly, hoping against hope the voice didn't belong to the person, he thought it did. He groaned when catching a glimpse of pink hair and black clothes.

"Perona... what the _fuck_ do you want?"

Perona, a girl obsessed with cute things and death (a combination that worked surprisingly well for her), stood in front of him, hands on her hips and glaring as if Zoro had just killed her favourite stuffed animal.

"Don't talk to me like that, Roronoa! Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I care?"

When her glare intensified, Zoro was at once reminded of her uncanny ability to make men grovel in front of her feet and wishing to be a louse... No kidding, he had actually seen a poor guy doing it before.

"Look, I know you're grateful that I saved your life and all, but you don't have to follow me around all the time!" he barked at her.

Perona snorted. "Saving my life? What a joke! I had everything under control!"

"You were surrounded by twenty men with swords and cried your eyes out... how does that count as 'having everything under control'?"

"... that was all part of my plan. And for your information: I'm not following you around because I'm grateful! I'm following you because... you're cute."

Zoro groaned. He knew exactly what she meant. When Perona said someone was 'cute', it didn't have the same meaning as for other girls... she didn't mean handsome or good looking. No, Perona meant it literally: cute as in cuddly, cuddly as in _adorable_.

Zoro fought down the want to gag.

"I'm. Not. Cute," he said, emphasizing every single word. "In what sense is a guy like me being _cute_?"

"You just are, alright? And if you've finished your rant, then you can come with me... I have this adorable bear costume I want you to wear at home..."

"_I'M NOT GOING TO WEAR A DAMN COSTUME, YOU WEIRD PERVERTED WOMAN!_"

Zoro yelled, his face turning red when several people stopped to stare at him.

"Aww! You're blushing! How cute!" Perona exclaimed and Zoro wanted to slap her.

Her costume fetish was another one of her quirks... one she was quite famous for by now. No one will ever forget poor Bepo, a rather weak-willed boy who was unfortunate enough to cross her path. Rumours said something snapped in him when Perona had stuffed him into an ice bear costume, forbid him to speak and used him as her own personal servant. Some said he was still wearing the costume even now and doing a frightening impersonation of Kung Fu Panda.

Zoro shook his head, willing his mind to get back to the matter at hand: getting rid of Perona.

Taking a deep breath, he began to walk forward with a frantic pace, cursing when he heard the clank of boots behind him. "I've got work to do. Fuck off, Perona."

"Work? You mean at Galley-La?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"You are going the wrong way, peanut brain."

Zoro stopped in his track and cursed again as the cloud, he had been following, changed direction for the fourth time.

This time he noticed.

* * *

><p>The Baratie was buzzing with life when, as always, the richer part of town chose to eat lunch at the exquisite restaurant. Waiters rushed around, hurriedly taking orders while Patty welcomed costumers at the door.<p>

"Can I get you anything else, milady?" Sanji asked as he held the hand of a beauty to his lips and brushed her knuckles with a feathered kiss. "Coffee? Tea? A glass of magnificent wine?"

The blond-haired beauty blushed under his intense gaze and Sanji silently applauded himself for another round of successful flirting. Decreasing the space between them even more, he leaned down, his thumb caressing the slightly trembling hand in his as he readied himself for the killer move.

Lips near her ear, he whispered, "You have the most beautif-"

"What the hell are you doing out here, eggplant?"

Sanji's face nearly crushed on the table at the thundering sound of his embarrassing nickname. Glaring, he turned around to look into the eyes of his furious adoptive father Zeff.

"What the fuck, shitty old geezer? Don't scream like that in front of a lady, asshole!"

Several eyes turned to them, the regulars smirking at the familiar scene while new costumers were torn between watching the spectacle with interest and calling the police before someone was killed.

"Is that how you talk to your chef, you shrimp?" Zeff roared, using his tower of a chef's hat to knock Sanji on the head, accentuating his words with every hit. "Your place is in the kitchen! Do your damn job!"

"Tending to the costumers _is_ part of my damn job!" Sanji replied, dodging another attack of the hat and raising his leg for a kick.

Zeff was ready for it and blocked the attack with his peg leg. "Not when you do nothing but flirting with women and ignoring the males!"

They continued to fight, oblivious to the reason for their argument leaving the restaurant quietly before she was expected to pay for her meal and they didn't stop to fight until they heard a quiet and familiar cough.

Their heads turned simultaneously and Sanji felt his heart sink at the sight of the perpetrator of that noise. "K-Kalifa, what can we-" he began but was interrupted by one of Zeff's kicks hitting him straight in the chest and sending Sanji flying on one of the empty tables. It yielded under his weight and with a crash, the cook landed painfully on the ground.

"Not the best time for me to visit, I take it?" Kalifa said, one eyebrow raised as she watched Sanji picking himself off the ground.

"No, no of course not! You're always a sight to behold!" Sanji said while brushing dust and splintered wood off his suit. "I was just teaching this shitty old geezer here a lesson."

Zeff barked a laugh. "You're a hundred years too early to teach me anything, eggplant. Come to the kitchen as soon as you're finished here. Kalifa," he said and nodded his head politely in her direction.

She nodded back, hand as always moving at once to righten her glasses.

"What can I do for you, sweeth-... Kalifa?"

The blond-haired woman raised an eyebrow at Sanji's near slip of tongue, but didn't comment on it. "I'm here to get a bentō for Iceburg-san. He has an important business meeting and won't be able to come for lunch."

"Oh, that's rare... usually he would do anything to eat here. There is nothing wrong with the company, is there?"

"Nothing we can't handle. The bentō, Sanji-san?"

Sanji nearly cringed at her use of honorific, the suddenly formal address feeling like a stab in his heart. "Yes, of course." He turned to Patty who had just finished taking an order from another costumer... a regular seeing as he had stayed calmly in his seat during Sanji and Zeff's quarrel. "One special sushi bentō for Iceburg-san!"

The bulky man, who looked like he would be a better sailor than cook, cringed at Sanji giving an order to him but chose to quietly vanish into the kitchen while grumbling under his breath.

Sanji _was_ sous-chef after all...

"Anything else I can do for you?" Sanji asked, turning back to her.

"Yes," Kalifa said softly. "I would like to talk for a bit, if you don't mind. I think... you've been avoiding me, Sanji-san."

Sanji stared at her until she looked away under his intense gaze. "I-... I understand this isn't easy for you," she continued. "But... it's been a year and I thought we could be... friends."

"You left me," Sanji said, his voice cold enough to shock even himself. Still he went on, "You left me and didn't even give me a reason."

Kalifa's expression was so kind that Sanji would've been tempted to rip it off her face if she hadn't been a lady. It would be so much easier just to hate her...

"I gave you a reason, Sanji," she said and his treacherous heart skipped a beat at the sudden lack of honorific. "I'm not good enough for you."

"That's not a reason!" Sanji yelled, feeling all the pain welling up again at hearing those words. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the floor. "I-... I'm sorry. I shouldn't yell... I know, we've been over this before and I'm over it, but... but... it's still hard to hear. I thought we've been good before, you know?"

"Yes, but it wasn't enough," Kalifa said, her voice still having this damn soft tone. "I knew I wasn't able to return your feelings whole heartedly and if you're really honest with yourself, then you'll see that we weren't meant to be. There is someone better for you out there, Sanji. Someone who loves you more than I ever could."

Sanji looked at her, the memory of that kiss from the night before, resurfacing inside his mind. This and her strange choice of words made a thought suddenly occur to him... a thought so ridiculous that the chef would have laughed at it if it hadn't been so damn serious. "Kalifa..." he began slowly. "That person who could love me, the one you're talking about... does he exist? Is... is that the reason why you left me? Because of him?"

Kalifa didn't say anything but her expression spoke worlds.

"I'm so sorry, Sanji-san," she then said. "I... I noticed how he looked at you when you two fought and... and you always looked so _happy_. I thought, I might be holding you back, so..."

She looked pleadingly at him and despite all the pain Kalifa had put him through, he just couldn't be angry with her. Sighing, the cook said, "It's alright... that's in the past now."

"But how did you find out that he likes you? Did he finally confess?"

"No, but... he did something," Sanji said, blushing. "I'll tell you later... you have a meeting, don't you? The bentō should be ready now."

After Kalifa nodded, Sanji turned to enter the kitchen with only two thoughts inside his mind:

That Kaku had really kissed him and _HOLY FUCK,_ Kaku had really kissed him!

He kicked Patty just for the heck of it.

* * *

><p>"You're late, Zoro," Paulie said sternly as the swordsman finally reached the main building. He had been able to shake Perona off a few streets back but ended up in a completely different neighbourhood.<p>

"Not my fault," he said when he entered the building together with Paulie. "Perona followed me again."

"Perona? That ghost girl? Damn, Zoro... you should be more careful. She is Mihawk's niece, isn't she? It's bad enough that you always beat up his goons but hanging around with that girl... It's dangerous, not to mention inappropriate. You're not even married!"

Zoro scoffed. Paulie had always had a weird conception of what was proper in this day and age. "It's not like I _want_ to be around her. She just follows me everywhere... I don't think Mihawk thinks a whole lot of her, anyway. She had been _attacked_ by his men, Paulie. Not to mention that I _want_ him to find me."

They went through the reception room (Zoro waved at Camie, the receptionist as he passed her desk) and to a large room in the back.

A big man with a haircut that made him look like a bull guarded the door with a bored expression on his face. Blueno, a stoic man of few words and an unusual high voice, nodded to them as he opened the door to let them in.

Iceburg sat on a couch at a small table, a steaming mug of tea in his hand. Kalifa was behind him, reading his schedule from a small piece of paper.

Iceburg looked up as Zoro entered. "Ah, there you are! Good thing I told you to come three hours before the actual meeting... you're nearly on time."

Zoro saw Kalifa smile at him and glared back. He would never forgive her for what she had done... she had been the reason Sanji had drown himself in alcohol that night at Ace's birthday party.

Zoro will never forget his pained expression as he drank one glass of rum after the other...

"Who will we meet?" Zoro asked, pulling his gaze away from her and back at his boss.

"The CEO of Krieg Enterprises, Don Krieg himself."

The swordsman frowned. "Don Krieg? Isn't he dealing in weapons?"

"So the rumours say. And thus the need of your assistance. I don't expect the meeting to be very pleasant... especially seeing as I'm planning to recline any and all work with Krieg," Iceburg explained.

"Want me to get my swords?"

"I don't think that will be necessary. I asked Ace to attend as well. Speaking of which... any word from him, Kalifa?"

"He said he was on his way, Iceburg-san," Kalifa said, pushing up her glasses.

Zoro grinned. "I bet he got lost... that idiot!"

No one commented on that.

"Maaah... I'm not really in mood for this meeting," Iceburg said, sticking his little finger in his ear to clean it. "We really can't cancel it, Kalifa?"

"I'm afraid not, Iceburg-san. Krieg-san is already on his way."

Iceburg sighed. "I hate dealing with that guy..."

The door suddenly opened with a loud bang and a huge man walked in, carrying a dead weight.

"Look what I found on my way in," Tyleston said in his usual loud voice while Ace snored loudly on his massive shoulder. "HAHAHAHAHA! He lay in a flower bed in front of the Sunny."

Zoro slapped a hand on his forehead. Of course Ace had to fall asleep while walking! Sighing, Zoro stepped up to Tyleston and knocked Ace on the head with the side of his hand. "Wake up, you idiot! We got work to do!"

His snot bubble popping at the sudden disturbance, Ace opened his eyes drowsily. Yawning with tear-drops in his eyes, the freckled man looked around, not in the slightest surprised by his surroundings. "Yo, Tyleston! You gave me a lift? Thanks, man!" he said to the man carrying him.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Don't mention it, firefist!" Tyleston roared into his ear before placing him safely on the ground. "Then I'll be off. Gotta get to the port in time."

Iceburg nodded at him. "Tell Franky to come to Shakky's tonight. Kokoro wants to drink with us."

With another loud laugh Tyleston saluted before leaving the room.

"So, what did I miss?" Ace asked, clapping his hands together. "Who will we be meeting? Can we beat someone up? Why doesn't Zoro has his swords with him? Can _I_ beat someone up? What-"

Iceburg held his hand up to stop the storm of questions. "We'll meet Krieg, you aren't supposed to beat anyone up and Zoro and you are more than capable of handling today's meeting without Zoro's swords. I would rather not have weapons present when I'm about to decline his preposition."

Ace made a face. "I wanted a good fight... it has been damn boring lately. No one wants to fight me anymore..."

"Maybe they are scared you'll light their hair on fire," Zoro laughed and Ace grinned back.

Ever since Ace took up fire breathing, there didn't seem to be anything save from his flames. Especially his opponents often ended up with dark red patches on their skin and scorched eyebrows. Not to mention that he was usually the first to arrive at the scene whenever a fire broke out in the Sunny... a coincidence that led Franky to bribe Luffy with meat, so he would follow his brother with a miniature fire extinguisher wherever he went and use it if Ace lit even so much like a match.

The fires in the Sunny lessened from eighteen a week to three afterwards.

"It's not like I would _really_ burn anyone..." Ace said, grinning maniacally. "Maybe singeing a bit, but not burning."

Zoro shook his had at his friend and looked at Iceburg. "When are they supposed to arrive?"

"Any minute now," Iceburg answered and as if on cue, the door opened again with a loud bang.

Krieg, a big and bulky man with the affinity to wear golden armour on his upper body, walked in, flanked by his right and left hand men, Gin and Pearl.

Zoro glared at them, remembering full well the incident in the Baratie when Sanji had gotten hurt as he tried to throw Gin and Pearl out of Zeff's restaurant. Krieg, having no manners at all, had caused havoc when they had asked him to leave after harassing the other costumers.

In the end, the thing had ended in a full-out brawl and it needed Sanji, Luffy and Zoro to finally throw them out.

Gin grinned smugly at him and Zoro's eyes darkened as he remembered the guy's words to Sanji before he had finally left.

"_A sexy blonde who can fight, eh? Makes me wonder what else you can do with those long legs... I always liked the feisty ones."_

The swordsman's blood boiled at the memory and he gritted his teeth before breathing in deeply to calm himself. He was at work and it wouldn't do to beat up Iceburg's guests for personal reasons.

Krieg sat on the couch opposite Iceburg and laid his feet on the small table in front of him. It creaked under his weight.

"No time for manners, let's get down to business," he said and snapped his fingers.

Pearl handed him a sheet of paper and the meeting began.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was intense..." Ace said half an hour later after Krieg had stormed out of the room and told Iceburg he would regret his decision. "Wanna go to the gym for a quick training session?"<p>

"Damn... what's with your blood-lust today?" Zoro asked, grinning. He felt worlds better after Iceburg pissed off Krieg and his men.

Ace pouted. "Marco has a tournament in three weeks and... and... the old man told him..."

"Ah, no sex, eh?" Zoro laughed.

'The old man', Ace talked about, was Edward Newgate, nicknamed Whitebeard, and a giant of a man. While Garp had more or less raised Luffy and Ace, Whitebeard was more of a father figure to Ace and had trained him and Marco for the past six years in hand to hand combat. He was also known to be quite strict.

"How can I survive the next three weeks, eh? It's barely been a day!"

"See it from the bright side: you're going to have a damn great night once the time is over and Marco has won the tournament!"

"I know..." Ace said distractedly and judging by the expression on his face, the man's mind was already in the gutter.

Zoro raised an eyebrow when his friend's eyes glazed over and he mumbled something about 'peanut butter' and 'rope burn'.

Grinning, Zoro led Ace back to the Sunny (the right direction even) and thought a quick brawl in the gym wouldn't hurt.

* * *

><p>Sanji dived to his left as one of Kaku's violent kicks was directed at his head. Using his hands as a springboard, he sent a swirl of kicks at the other man. Several were blocked but one hit Kaku's face, sending him flying several feet away.<p>

Panting, Kaku stayed lying on the ground, limbs outstretched in all directions.

"You alright?" Sanji asked after he came back down on his feet.

"Yeah, just give me a minute... Damn, you're becoming better and better, Sanji."

"You aren't so bad yourself... did you train with Jabra?"

Kaku snorted. "I'm _fighting_ with Jabra, not training. That guy gets under my skin."

Sanji grinned. Despite their attitude and steady annoyance with each other, Kaku and Jabra were really the best of friends. He honestly couldn't understand why they didn't see it...

"Want to take a break? We've been going at it for an hour now..." Sanji asked.

When Kaku nodded, the chef went over to him and let himself drop to the floor beside him, looking out of the countless windows.

The main gym consisted of the whole top floor and provided several training areas as well as dozens of weights. Big windows covered the walls, providing a magnificent view of the city.

Often, the Galley-La employees gathered in this place to hold tournaments or have parties together. Luffy, ever the fan of pirates and adventures, referred to it as the 'crow's nest' and it did have the vibe of a lookout.

Enjoying the view, Kaku and Sanji stayed silent for a while, the cook's thoughts once again returning to the elevator. After he had met with Kalifa in the Baratie and she told him more or less that Kaku was in love with him, Sanji had tried to think about ways, he could breach the topic during practice. It was obvious the man was reluctant to confess... he wouldn't have used the moment in the elevator to steal that kiss otherwise. But there had been so much feeling in that touch of lips, so much suppressed desire... it left no room for imagination: he obviously wanted more. So, why the secrecy?

Sanji nearly laughed as the answer to that question was rather obvious. The chef had always had only eyes for the ladies. Not even once did he ever show interest in his own sex.

So, the man clearly had to be scared... scared of a rejection as well as of destroying the friendship they had. Not even Sanji knew if that fear was justified, but he sure as hell wouldn't let things like gender keep him from trying.

Plucking up his courage, Sanji turned to Kaku, "Kaku... there is something I wanted to ask you."

"Shoot," the other man said, grinning, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face.

"Remember that blackout yesterday? When we were in the elevator?"

Kaku laughed. "Of course. I heard it was caused by Luffy and Usopp again. They tried out that robot rabbit... thing, Franky had build... the one Chimney is so smitten with. It had been damaged when she tried to take a bath with it."

"Ah, yeah... Didn't Franky say, he wouldn't be able to work on it until later?"

"Yeah and that's why Chimney asked Usopp for help. He repaired it and well... at least he thought he did because apparently a wire was loose and when Luffy plugged it in: BOOM!" Kaku said.

Sanji raised an eyebrow. "And he is alright?"

"Of course! Sometimes, I think that guy's skin is like rubber... how often did he get electrocuted now?"

"I've lost count," said Sanji, laughing.

"But that aside, you wanted to ask me something?"

"Yeah, well... during that blackout something... happened."

"What happened?" Kaku asked, his face giving nothing away.

"I-... I'm not sure how to ask this, but... Kaku, did you-"

Their heads whipped around when they suddenly heard laughter from the other side of the door.

"So, we were about to fight and then Marco said 'your ass is mine' in that sexy, growling voice, you know? And I was like 'well, of course but we'd better go to the bedroom then' and then he just-" Ace stopped dead when he opened the door and saw the gym wasn't as empty as he thought. "Oh, hey, guys! Didn't expect you to be here... aren't you always training in the afternoon?"

"Hey, Ace!" Sanji said, holding up a hand in greeting. "We had to move practice to the evening because that shitty old geezer keeps giving me the early shifts."

"Oh, he is still doing that? Damn... I would go mad!"

"Yeah, it's damn annoying."

While the two involuntarily celibate men chatted merrily, they were oblivious to the two other occupants of the room glaring daggers at each other.

* * *

><p>It had to be like this, didn't it? Zoro couldn't relax for a moment, laugh with one of his best friends and listen to his story how Marco and him had gotten together. No, he had to run into Sanji... the root of all of his problems, of his pain and loneliness. And not only that but he had to be together with <em>him<em>, with Kaku.

Not many knew it, but Kaku had a crush on Sanji... Zoro was certain of that. Not because he had told him (they didn't talk), but because he was looking at Sanji just like he did. His eyes followed the blonde just like Zoro's did, they lit up when Sanji laughed and shone with admiration and pride when he saw him fight.

And Kaku knew about Zoro's feelings as well. It was the only explanation for the loathing, the hatred and jealousy in the other man's eyes whenever Kaku looked at him.

Even now, he was staring at Zoro with such contempt, such hatred... but then Kaku smirked and looked down at Sanji and his hands. Frowning, Zoro followed his gaze and gritted his teeth when he noticed their fingers were touching.

It was unreasonable and stupid to get jealous over such a small thing, but Zoro couldn't help himself. He had always envied Kaku's closeness to Sanji... his ability to make the chef laugh, to chat and joke around with him. And when they had started to train, Zoro had nearly lost it. Fighting with the cook had been _his_ privilege before! It had been _his_ right to go all out against the blonde until he was left all flushed and panting, making noises one wouldn't need a dirty mind for to associate with the bedroom.

Now Kaku had done all that, a trace of red still left on the cook's cheeks while the long-nosed bastard brushed his fingers against the blonde's.

Zoro had to get out.

He had to get out before he did something stupid, out before he ended up wiping that smirk off Kaku's face with his fists.

Mumbling a quick excuse, Zoro ran out of the room.

* * *

><p>Ace looked sadly after his friend.<p>

Once he had seen how Kaku and Zoro looked at each other, he knew why the swordsman didn't like the long-nosed shipwright.

"What's wrong with that shitty marimo?" Sanji asked, frowning at the door where Zoro had vanished seconds before. "He is not gonna fight again, is he?"

"I don't think so... he knows better than to upset Chopper any more. He is probably still riled up by our meeting with Krieg," Ace said, knowing it was as good an excuse as any.

"Krieg? That's the guy Iceburg was meeting?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"Kalifa came to the Baratie to get a bentō today. She told me about it."

"I see... hey, can I fight you guys? Zoro wanted to train with me, but..." Ace scratched his head. "He seems to be busy."

"Sure, why not," Sanji said and stood up to be his first opponent.

Kaku stood up as well and turned around to give them some space. "Oh, yeah... what did you want to talk about, Sanji?" he said after dropping down at the sideline.

"Eh, it's not that important... I'll tell you tomorrow."

Ace thought he was missing something but decided he wouldn't care for now. He had a lot of pent up sexual frustration to work out... and he intended to spend no small amount once he faced Kaku on the mat.

The way that guy had tortured his friend hadn't escaped him at all.

* * *

><p>Zoro slumped down on his couch, not bothering to turn on the lights.<p>

The darkness was well suited for his mood, the sight of Sanji sitting happily next to Kaku still refusing to leave his mind. Gritting his teeth, he looked up at the dark ceiling and placed an arm over his eyes.

He wasn't weak... he knew he wasn't weak, but _damn_ it was hard. He could live with _women_ catching Sanji's eye... there was no way Zoro could or wanted to compete with a pair of breasts. But once a man made a move on Sanji... the swordsman growled.

In no _fucking_ way could he accept that! Zoro had no right whatsoever to lay claim over Sanji... he didn't have ten years ago and he wouldn't have it now but that wouldn't keep him from selfishly wanting the blonde for himself.

Zoro sucked in a deep breath through his clenched teeth.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a small point of red blinking next to him. Automatically, his hand went to press the play button on his answering machine.

"_Zoro, it's Koshiro. I have to go to a kendo tournament next week with some of the students... could you teach the junior class for me? I'll be gone on Thursday and Friday... you would really help me out. Bye!"_

Zoro smiled. Koshiro-sensei's voice never failed to calm him.

He remembered the day he had come to Koshiro-sensei as if it had been yesterday.

Zoro had only been six years old when his parents had died in a car crash. Having no other relatives, he had been brought to an orphanage at first. Everyone had treated him like some kind of monster... the children because of his strange coloured hair, the adults because Zoro hadn't cried even once after his parent's death. Then Koshiro had come, saying he was a friend of his father, that he had heard what happened and wanted to take him in.

_Zoro looked at the man with big eyes. He took in the kind and gentle expression and the numb feeling he had had after the funeral was gone in an instant. _

_Shocked, Zoro touched his face, as tears spilled over his cheeks. Ignoring the other adults' startled looks, Koshiro pulled him into a warm embrace, pressing Zoro's head against his chest just like his father always used to do. Zoro cried in earnest then, clutching at the man's yukata as he let go of his pent up feelings... let go of sorrow and despair._

The formalities had been quickly taken care of and Zoro had soon been able to go with Koshiro.

_Before leaving his home town, they visited his parents' grave. Koshiro-san stayed back as Zoro laid a bunch of flowers in front of the gravestone, silent tears running down his face as he read their names carved into the stone over and over again._

_He looked up when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Koshiro-san smiled warmly, his words soft as he spoke. "You don't have to worry about them, Zoro. They were good people... kind and generous. I'm sure they have found their place in heaven and the angels will watch over them... just as they do over you."_

"_Angels?" Zoro asked, his voice cracking as it was thick with tears._

"_Yes. Angels are watching over all of us, Zoro. I'm sure there is one for you out there as well."_

"_But then... why did they have to die? Why didn't the angels protect them?"_

"_Bad things like that happen sometimes... and although it seems cruel and unfair to us, there might be a reason for those things to happen, we just can't seem to see."_

_Zoro looked back at the grave and bit his lip. "I don't want an angel... if they can't even protect my parents, then I don't want one."_

_Koshiro-san just smiled kindly at him. "One day, you'll understand."_

Then they had driven back to Koshiro's home and Zoro still remembered how he had stared at the big, impressive buildings of Water 7.

"_I'm going to live here?" Zoro asked, pressing his hands against the glass of Koshiro-san's car._

"_If you want to. I won't force you to do anything, Zoro. It's your decision alone."_

"_You... you said you have a daughter, right? What if she doesn't like me?"_

_Koshiro-san laughed at that. "Oh, I'm absolutely sure, she will like you. You're just the kind of boy, Kuina will accept."_

_Puzzled by his choice of words, Zoro looked back at the city. Just what kinda girl was that 'Kuina' person? _

Zoro chuckled at the memory. If only he had known...

"_Hiyaaa!"_

_Zoro heard the cry from behind one of the paper doors, a shadow moving rapidly while several others dropped around it._

"_Is that all you can do? Aren't you ashamed?" Zoro heard a voice say. He thought it belonged to a young girl but it sounded much tougher than what he was used to._

_The paper door slid open and revealed a girl with short, black hair about Zoro's age. She had a wooden katana in one hand and wiped the sweat from her brow with the other. Looking behind her, Zoro saw several figures on the ground. They looked like teenagers._

_The girl frowned when she noticed Zoro standing awkwardly in front of her. "Who are you? Did you get lost?"_

"_I... my name is Zoro. Ko-Koshiro-san said that-"_

_He jumped as the girl suddenly swang her wooden katana in his direction. He managed to dodge the attack but just barely. _

"_What the hell are you doing?" he yelled. Then he stiffened with shock when her face was suddenly inches away from his own. _

_She looked him up and down, her brow furrowed, her eyes scrutinising. Then she went around him, apparently looking at every part of him closely. Zoro felt his face grow hot at the attention._

_Then she came to a stop in front of him. Zoro swallowed at her serious expression, then sighed in relief when she nodded and her face broke into a grin. "Your reflexes are great! Not many people can dodge my sword... your physique looks good as well. I'm Kuina, nice to meet you, Zoro!"_

_She held out her hand, Zoro shook it and just like that, a circle of seemingly endless fights and defeats began._

Zoro smiled. His first meeting with Sanji had happened only a day later. He always claimed he had been in love with him for ten years, but now that he remembered all these things, Zoro thought that maybe... maybe it had been love at first sight.

"_Where are we going?" Zoro asked his new sensei as he led the way across the street._

"_To an old friend of mine. He owns a restaurant and makes the best food, you'll ever eat," Koshiro-sensei said with his usual kind smile. "He also has a boy your age. I'm sure you'll get along."_

_Zoro frowned and turned his head to the place they were approaching. The restaurant looked expensive with its big windows and white marble walls. A big sign on top of it read 'The Baratie' . _

"_Is it really alright to go there? It looks like it's only for rich people..."_

"_Zeff never lets anyone go hungry, Zoro. Regardless if they have the money or not. Besides..." Koshiro-sensei rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "... he always threatens to kick me, whenever I try to pay for his meals."_

_Zoro blinked. "He wants to kick you?"_

"_You'll see," Koshiro-sensei said as they entered the fancy building._

"_Honoured gue-" a big man said happily as he approached them, stopping short when he recognised Koshiro-sensei. His following words were much less enthusiastic. "Oh, it's you. The boss is in the kitchen."_

"_Thank you, Patty-san." Koshiro-sensei put a hand on Zoro's back and manoeuvred him over to a swinging door. He pushed it open and a huge kitchen with several white clad men rushing around was revealed. A tall, blond man was in the middle, barking orders at the other cooks. Then he moved away from the middle counter and Zoro noticed witch a jolt that he had a peg leg._

"_Koshiro! I expected you yesterday! Is that the boy?" the chef asked, shaking Koshiro-san's hand before looking at Zoro. "Hm, he looks strong... not like that little eggplant I have to water."_

"_I heard that, you shitty old geezer!" Zoro heard a voice behind Zeff. _

_A boy pushed himself past the tall man and Zoro found himself staring. _

_Golden hair and bright blue eyes glared at the peg legged man. His lips moved and Zoro was sure they said something but he didn't get the words... he was too busy staring at the boy's shining hair._

"_Angel..." Zoro whispered and he felt Koshiro-san looking at him but didn't care._

_Then the boy's gaze turned to Zoro, his bright blue eyes squinting at him. "Oi, stop staring at me, asshole! You're creeping me out..."_

_A leg suddenly came crushing down on the blond boy's head and now Zoro knew exactly what Koshiro-sensei had meant before._

"_Don't speak like that to the boy, shitty eggplant. Show some manners, idiot!" Zeff said, while Sanji held his head and glared at him with big teardrops in the corners of his eyes._

Zoro closed his eyes.

That moment was the beginning... the beginning of Sanji starting to hate him. Zoro had found it funny how Zeff told Sanji to show manners with such crude words. He had tried not to laugh but ended up failing and Sanji had thought he was laughing at _him_ and not at the irony of Zeff's words. That day, they had competed against the other for the first time as Sanji challenged Zoro to a fight when the adults weren't looking. It had ended in a draw... exactly like all the other matches they had had and that frustrated Sanji. He had always won against every other boy his age and couldn't accept Zoro to be equally strong. Declaring Zoro to be his rival for life, he had kept challenging him to one ridiculous match after the other.

Zoro hadn't really cared about that. It gave him excuses to be around the blonde and that was all he had ever wanted... up until Kuina's death.

_He couldn't believe it... couldn't believe the angels had taken another important person to heaven with them. Refusing to leave his bed for days, Zoro had cried in his pillow, remembering all of the fights he had had with Kuina. _

_He didn't want to see anyone, refusing to eat or drink. All he wanted was to be alone and this pain to go away. _

And then Sanji had come.

_His door suddenly flew open, ripped out of its hinges by a powerful kick._

"_You shitty marimo! Do you think I'll let you go just like that?"_

_Zoro jumped up and screamed at him, crying out his pain and frustration. Before he knew it, they began to fight, Zoro with his fists, Sanji with his legs._

_Then Zoro's vision began to blur, his body too weak from days without food and barely any water. His knees sank to the floor and panting, he expected a kick that would finally defeat him... finally end even the small bond he had with the blonde._

_But nothing came and instead of kicking him, Sanji crouched down to look Zoro in the eyes. "I want a fair fight, moss-head. Don't think I'll let you die before I defeat you for real. You're my rival."_

_Rival... it was what Kuina had always called him. Would Sanji be as devastated as Zoro was right now, if he died?_

"_I cooked something for you, marimo. It's a damn honour for such an idiot like you... I won't leave until you eat it. Just try to make me and you'll get a kick in your face, shithead." _

_He left the room to get a plate from just outside the broken door and a heavenly smell hit Zoro's nostrils. Sanji held out the plate to him and Zoro took it, placing it carefully on the floor. Just when Sanji wanted to complain, Zoro reached out and pulled the blonde down to him, arms clinging to the young cook._

_Now half laying on the kneeling boy, Sanji rolled his eyes as he patted Zoro's back. "You big softy... you're so embarrassing," he said but didn't push him away and for the first time after Kuina's death, Zoro smiled._

That had been the moment, Zoro had known he was in love.

He might have been too young to really understand, but the feelings had already been there.

Placing a hand over his heart, broken so often over the years, he was nearly surprised to find it beating steadily against his chest. He looked at the glowing digits of his clock radio and realised with mild surprise that it had been two hours since he had come in.

Holding onto his precious memories, Zoro lay his legs up on the couch and sank at once into a restless sleep.

* * *

><p>One floor down, a blonde man lay inside his bed, a small smile playing around his lips as he dreamed of a memory... a crying boy and a warm embrace.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Next time: Kaku's confession! What will Zoro do?<em>


	3. Chapter 3: Kaku's confession!

**_Hey, everyone!_**

_Sorry for the wait! I have had some trouble with the format (my computer crashed while writing and suddenly there were break lines after every single line O.o), so I hope everything is alright now... Please, let me know if something looks strange :)_

_Also: this chapter is rated a tiny bit stronger than the other chapters due to the beginning... I still think T is alright, though._

_That aside, a few people have mentioned Kaku's nose and I have to admit that I messed up. This story being a modern AU, I simply imagined Kaku's nose to be longer than average but not impossible long like in the manga and anime and didn't even think the readers would have the usual image in mind and thus imagine Kaku to... well, stab Sanji's eye out while trying to kiss him or something XD._

_So, it's a bit like Chopper being a boy instead of a reindeer, Franky not being half robot and Brook being skinny but no sceleton. I should have given you the necessary information before and am really very sorry about that! I promise to be more considerate in the future :)_

_There will be only one more chapter after this one and then... I've got a little treat for you. _

_But for now, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter :)_

_**_Notes:_**_

_bokken = wooden sword_

_'Oni giri', 'tora gari', 'tatsu maki' = Zoro's techniques: 'Demon Slash', 'Tiger Hunt' and 'Twister'_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: <strong>_**Kaku's confession! What will Zoro do?**_

_He lay on the floor of the Baratie, a hand holding his head away from the ground, fingers entangled in his hair. A hard body was draped over him. He was being kissed... lips lapping relentlessly on his own, a tongue working its way past his lips and into his mouth._

_It was hot... way too hot. _

Sanji panted. Sweat broke out on his brow as he clutched at his duvet, his knuckles turning white from his grip as he writhed inside his bed.

_The body began to move. _

_Hips pressing down, a hot hardness sliding first against his stomach, then over his groin, providing delicious friction through their clothes and driving Sanji mad with want. _

_It felt familiar... so familiar._

"M-More... " His voice was but a whisper, words pressed out between gasps and groans.

_He tried to open his eyes but couldn't. _

_He needed... needed to see... needed to see his face... needed to see who it was... _

"W-Who are you... who..."

"_S-Sanji..." a raw, coarse voice panted above him and he knew that voice, knew who it belonged to. He had heard it for years and years but never in this manner... never drunken with desire and want. Sanji opened his eyes with a jolt, looking into the dark eyes of-_

Sanji's eyes opened wide in shock. He stared at the ceiling of his bedroom in disbelief, panting as his heart thundered inside his chest. Close... he had been so close.

Gritting his teeth, the cook hit his mattress with his fist, fingers clenched in anger. This dream... he had had it since his break up with Kalifa, but for a few months now it had haunted him less and less at night... until the kiss had happened.

Once Sanji had found himself obsessed with finding out the person's identity, the dream had come every night again. Most times, he forgot all about it and only sweat and frustration reminded him of it on the following day, but sometimes... sometimes it stayed inside his mind.

Sometimes, like right now, he remembered every detail of it, every move and every feeling.

Feeling... was it normal to feel so strongly after a mere dream? Was it normal to feel your lips tingling after waking up or to still feel the press of teasing fingers on hot skin?

Why did this particular dream feel so much more like a memory?

Sanji ran a shaking hand through his hair and sat up. The kiss, that dream and the whole thing with Kaku... everything was slowly but surely driving him mad.

Three days had passed since he had tried to talk to Kaku and not even once did he manage to meet his friend alone since then. Not that he really tried... in fact, Sanji had been quite relieved when Franky had announced, the whole team would be working on a special project and was going to pull all-nighters for a while.

Sanji had been dead-set on talking to Kaku, but after they had been interrupted by Ace and Zoro, Sanji had realised with a jolt that he hadn't even really thought about what he would do if Kaku really _was_ the one who had kissed him.

It had felt amazing... that much was certain but would Sanji be able to accept his feelings?

Well, if there even were any feelings... maybe it had been just a weird joke or a passing attraction even.

But if it wasn't, then Sanji was already sure their gender wouldn't be a problem... not after he had reacted so strongly to the kiss. But Kaku was... a friend and nothing more. Like Ace or Franky... he couldn't even _begin_ to imagine a relationship with him.

Sighing, Sanji stood up to get a glass of water but then noticed a particular problem as he looked down at his crotch and frowned.

Damn it... was he that desperate for action that a simple dream like that was enough to get him this excited?

Grumbling, Sanji went to the bathroom instead and hoped a cold shower would be enough to get rid of the tent inside his trousers.

* * *

><p>Seagulls soared through the sky over the harbour, casting shadows down on the people below.<p>

A particular brave (or stupid) one flew down to sit on a pillar, watching curiously how a strange dressed girl with pink hair talked to a man with seaweed on his head.

The seagull cocked its head. Humans... they were so strange.

The girl rolled a lollipop around inside her mouth as she watched the man heave up one staple of wood after the other. "You look like shit," she mentioned after taking in the dark circles under his eyes. "That's so not cute..."

"Thank god," Zoro muttered, throwing down the wood where Paulie wanted to have it.

He was working with him instead of Franky because the others were busy building some special ship... Pluto or something. Robin seemed to be strangely interested in it as well as they were following some ancient blueprints. Zoro didn't really care, though. All he wanted was to work until he had no time left to think.

"What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have someone else to bother?" he asked Perona who was sitting on another staple of wood.

"Nah... Law said he would sell my organs on the black market if I ever talked to Bepo again," she said as if all that didn't really concern her.

Zoro frowned. "Law? Trafalgar Law? The guy who does the intern-ship with Chopper?"

Perona nodded. "Yeah... people say he is pretty wicked and even has connections with the Mafia. Not someone you would want to cross, so I stay clear from Bepo for now. It's a shame... that costume was one of my best."

Shaking his head, Zoro went to get the next pack of wood only to be stopped by a hand. Looking up, he saw that it belonged to Paulie.

"Zoro, I told you not to overdo it... you look like you're ready to drop. Why don't you take a break and talk to your friend?"

"I don't need a break, Paulie... and Perona is _not_ my friend," he answered growling.

Perona giggled and swang her legs around. "Horo horo horo! That's right. I would never be friends with such a lowly creature... I'm his mistress!"

Zoro's face twitched. "You aren't my mistress either, you damn pervert!"

They continued to bicker for a while. After a moment, the seagull decided to search for a calmer place to rest and flew up... but not without noticing two shadows hiding in the dark and whispering without the other humans' notice.

* * *

><p>On another part of the harbour, the rest of Galley-La's shipwrights were working relentlessly on building the ship Iceburg-san had requested from them.<p>

"Are you sure you're alright, bro? Those still look painful..." Franky asked after Kaku had winced for the third time that day while trying to pick up a tool.

"I'm fine, Franky-san. Nothing to concern yourself with," Kaku answered with a small smile.

After Zoro had left the gym three days ago, Kaku had sparred with Sanji and Ace and had received quite a lot of damage from the firefist. One didn't need to be a genius to figure out that Ace had noticed Kaku's admittedly cruel actions towards his friend... and the freckled man sure had paid him back in kind.

While Ace usually pulled his punches outside of matches, he had had no such qualms that day and went all out against the shipwright. Now, Kaku's body was covered in bruises and especially his back was hurting like hell. Ace had not even refrained from kicking his behind... not that Kaku blamed him for it.

As much as he didn't like Zoro for his attraction to Sanji, Kaku did realise afterwards that he had been an ass for acting like he did. While his more sadistic side still felt triumph over the image of Zoro bolting out of the room, Kaku did know how it felt to be in his shoes.

Nearly everyone in Galley-La knew about Zoro's attraction to Sanji, sans Sanji himself, and if Kaku was honest then he had to admit that Zoro's chances with the blonde were a whole lot better than his.

But still, he just couldn't stop torturing that man... he was too jealous of his relationship with the cook.

Whenever the two of them met, there was this strange tension between them... a tension that seemed to lock both of them into an invisible room and blocked everyone else out of their little world.

Whether they fought or simply stood beside each other, they had an air of belonging around them and Kaku knew if he was to wait any longer, it would be too late... he knew if he didn't act soon, then he had no chance of stepping between them.

As slim as his chances with Sanji were, he wasn't ready to give up... not yet. Not until he had at least voiced his feelings to the blonde.

Kaku sighed as he picked up a hammer.

How long had it been since he had fallen in love with Sanji?

A year? Maybe a bit longer? It had begun just after they had started to train together... Kaku had always admired the blonde's physique, but when he had seen Sanji's pride in his unusual fighting style, when Kaku had felt the strength in Sanji's body and heart... he had fallen and he had fallen hard.

His heart had begun to speed up whenever the blonde had entered a room and Kaku had soon felt unable to pull his gaze away from him. Sanji mesmerized... captivated him even.

"Kaku, can you help me with the bow?" Franky asked, pulling Kaku away from his thoughts.

"Sure, coming!"

Taking heart, Kaku decided then and there, he wouldn't be waiting any more. When his shift was over tomorrow, he would ask Sanji to meet him... and he would finally confess his feelings.

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Zoro sat on the couch, a bottle of beer in his hand as he watched Luffy and Chopper listening to one of Usopp's pirate stories. They had all met in Ace and Luffy's apartment to celebrate Usopp winning a price for his green goo. The stuff that had nearly destroyed the Monkey's heater was apparently a great sort of cement that would become rock hard in a matter of seconds once you had applied a bit of heat... Iceburg-san even considered using it for his ships.<p>

As Zoro sat there and looked at his friends, he couldn't help but think the engineer to be a good storyteller... he had heard of Usopp's wish to become an author one day, but always thought of that as just another one of his lies. Now that Zoro saw how awed his friends were by the unbelievable stories of floating islands and a village of mermaids, though, it didn't seem as impossible any more.

"Cute, aren't they?" Ace asked as he dropped down beside him on the couch. "They look like they don't have a care in the world..."

Zoro chuckled. "Seriously, I don't think they do..." he said before pointing to one of the bottles of beer in Ace's hands. "That one for me?"

"Are you kidding? Both of them are!"

Zoro grinned as he received the two bottles of liquor and placed them on the small table next to the couch. It wasn't a secret that Ace wasn't any good with alcohol... it seemed to have a bad influence on his narcolepsy and he usually ended up sleeping every few seconds before waking up again and wondering what the hell he was doing on the ground.

Not that it really mattered. Even an Ace who didn't consume alcohol was still a great drinking buddy... and Zoro was more than capable of drinking enough for both of them.

"Wanna tell me what's wrong with you now?"

The swordsman's eyebrows rose at Ace's question. "There is nothing wrong..."

Ace gave him a long look. "Zoro, you've been drowning yourself in work these past few days... I've talked to Franky and Paulie, you know? It's obvious that you're trying to forget about something."

"I-" Zoro began but then groaned and ruffled his short hair in frustration. "Yes... yes, you're right, but I don't really want to talk about it."

"You got to, mate. You tend to eat things up until they come back to bite you in the butt... it's about _him _again, isn't it?"

Zoro looked at him as his heart clenched inside his chest. Sanji's name didn't even have to fall and his heart still skipped a beat before clenching painfully. "Isn't it always about him...?" he asked quietly.

Ace put an arm around his shoulders. "Tell me, Zoro."

Normally, he would have brushed off Ace's questions and tried to convince him it was nothing, but the pure honesty in his friend's voice made Zoro want to say what he had been trying to push back inside his mind.

"I... Ace I've done something stupid. I... I have lost control and...," he said and began his tale.

As Zoro talked and Ace listened, they didn't notice Luffy watching them with curious eyes.

* * *

><p>The next day, Sanji sat in a small café and looked out of the window while a steaming mug of coffee rested inside his hands. It was cold that day. The temperature had suddenly dropped a few degrees, announcing the transition from summer to autumn and people were rushing past the café's window, hurrying to get somewhere warm, all of them wearing too thin clothes in this surprisingly chilly weather.<p>

Hearing the bell of the door, Sanji's head jerked to the entrance, his face splitting into a grin when he saw Kaku enter.

"Sorry, I'm late... Jabra kept me up," the shipwright said to him.

"Don't worry about it. I haven't been here for long," Sanji replied while Kaku slipped into the booth opposite him.

"I was surprised that you wanted to meet me here, though. Why not in the Baratie or later in the Sunny? The shitty old geezer gave me hell when I told him I wanted to leave early..."

"I'm sorry about that," Kaku said a bit too quickly. "I... Sanji, there is something I have to tell you and I thought a neutral place would... would be better for that."

Sanji frowned. "Neutral? What... what do you want to say?"

The shipwright nervously tapped the table with his fingers while evading the cook's gaze. Kaku had called Sanji out as soon as he had finished working on that special project from Franky for the day and since the chef had something to talk to him about as well, Sanji had accepted right away. While he still thought the meeting place to be unusual, the cook was secretly thankful for Kaku's choice. Seeing that he finally wanted to ask Kaku about the blackout, he felt a bit more comfortable being surrounded by people... at least it seemed better than being alone with him right now.

"What is it, Kaku?" Sanji pressed on when the shipwright still didn't speak and made to sip on his coffee.

"I... this isn't easy for me, but... I... I like you, Sanji. I've liked you for a very long time now."

Sanji nearly choked on his drink. Coughing, he placed the mug back on the table. "W-What?" All thoughts about the kiss had vanished in that very moment.

"I don't expect you to do anything or... or even to return my feelings," Kaku said hastily. "I just wanted to tell you... I couldn't keep quiet about it any longer."

Sanji held up a hand, his thoughts racing as he flattened his hair with shaking fingers. "Wait a minute. You... you like me?"

Kaku nodded.

Sighing, Sanji tried to collect his thoughts. What was he supposed to do, now that the situation he had feared most had come true? "I... I'm sorry but I'll need some time to think about this," he finally said.

Kaku stared at him with wide eyes. "You... you aren't rejecting me?"

Sanji winced. The hope in Kaku's voice was nearly painful. "Well, no... at least not yet. I... I'm a bit confused right now. Can we meet at the gym tomorrow evening?"

"Yeah... yes, of course," Kaku said. He was practically beaming at Sanji. "I thought you would reject me right away. You've always been all over women, so... what makes you consider? What brought on the change?"

Sanji leaned back in his booth, his back resting against the soft cushion and looked out of the window. A child was running past the glass as thick drops of rain began to fall.

"You know, that's exactly what I've been asking myself."

* * *

><p>The following day, it was finally Thursday and time for Koshiro to go to the tournament.<p>

"Thanks for helping me out, Zoro," Koshiro-sensei said before heaving a big bag stuffed with bokken over his shoulder. "But are you sure it's alright? Don't you have to work?"

Zoro snorted. "Unfortunately, Franky and Iceburg-san have this strange idea that I'm overworked. They insisted I take a break for a few days..."

"Zoro, if that's true then it would be better if-"

Groaning, Zoro shook his head. "Don't you start, too. I'm fine and training the kids won't put much of a strain on me."

Koshiro-sensei gave him a long look before he heaved a heavy sigh. "Fine... fine then, but I've asked Zeff to make sure you're eating enough. I know of the poor diet you have when you're on your own."

Zoro's eyebrow twitched. That old topic again... it might be true that he usually lived on instant noodles and take-away but that didn't mean Zoro didn't take good care of his body. He had those vitamin pills from Chopper... that was good enough, wasn't it?

"Stop making such a fuss... I'm not a child any more."

Koshiro-sensei laughed. "You'll always be a child to me, Zoro!"

Rolling his eyes, Zoro picked up a second bag and helped the older man to get everything into his car. "Hurry up and get going, sensei. You've got to get your bus."

"Yes, yes. Are you sure you've got everything you need, Zoro? Class attending list, training schedule... do you know where the-"

"Sensei, everything is under control. I know what to do. You just make sure, you won't be late. Your students will insist that you run laps as punishment," Zoro said smirking.

Koshiro-sensei frowned. "They would, wouldn't they?" he said before he got inside the car. "Then take care and thanks again for your help."

"It's nothing. Tell Yosaku and the others to kick ass!" Zoro said, smirking. He waved as the older man drove off.

Sighing, Zoro looked at the still empty dojo. Class wouldn't start until in an hour, which meant... Zoro grinned. It had been a while since he was able to practice his moves in the proper environment.

Humming, he went to get his swords.

* * *

><p>"Eggplant, I've got a special delivery for you to make..."<p>

Sanji frowned. "Delivery? We don't do deliveries... what are you babbling about, old man?"

Zeff growled. "Just get this here over to the dojo, you brat. Zoro took over for Koshiro."

Groaning, Sanji looked at the neatly packed bento as if it was something disgusting. "You've got to be kidding! Why do we have to feed that idiot?"

"Are you really asking me that? Did you forget how Zoro gets once he has started training?"

Sanji frowned. He didn't forget... he knew that shithead forgot anything and everything around him when he was inside the dojo. Even outside of class, Zoro still went on practising his sword moves for hours, even neglecting his own physical needs. Once that idiot had even passed out simply because he had forgotten to drink!

"Alright already. I'll bring the marimo his meal... but don't expect me to enjoy it."

Zeff rolled his eyes. "Everything would be easier if you'd just admit that you like him, eggplant."

Sanji looked horrified. "Me? Liking that idiot? Are you insane?"

"Yeah, yeah... just get going."

Sanji was still cursing when he left the Baratie, the package for Zoro neatly secured under his arm.

That shitty old geezer, implying that he... Sanji shook his head. No need to dwell on that... his old man had always had the delusion of Zoro and him being friends. They were _rivals_, for Christ's sake! Nothing more, nothing less.

Speaking of which... it had been a while since Sanji had challenged the marimo to a match. Maybe he should ask him for a quick one in the dojo?

Thoughts still occupied with dreams of finally beating Zoro, the chef crossed the street and headed for Koshiro-san's dojo. Not bothering to ring the bell, Sanji entered through the big, wooden gate and went for the room he knew, the swordsman would be training inside.

The paper door was open and it didn't take long for Sanji to spot Zoro inside the big room. He just wanted to call out to the marimo as something made him stop in his track. Gaping, he watched Zoro move with his swords.

He was making slow, controlled movements and Sanji knew by now, they were to sharpen the swordsman's concentration and control.

Zoro's upper body was bare, a thin layer of sweat coating his skin, as muscles rippled with every move.

He didn't know what it was, but something about the sight captivated Sanji and he couldn't help but stare... moving like that, Zoro looked so damn strong and graceful.

Then his movements sped up and Zoro's swords began to slice the air. He was a blur of tainted skin and flashing blades and Sanji caught himself reciting the names of Zoro's moves.

"_'Oni giri', 'tora gari', 'tatsu maki',..._" Sanji whispered quietly as he watched and analysed every one of the swordsman's techniques. Then Zoro started to use even some techniques Sanji didn't know yet and... the cook wondered: had he always been that good?

It had been such a long time since their last fight and the blonde hadn't gotten a good look when they were fighting that gang... did the swordsman really improve that much? Was he... was he leaving Sanji behind?

Now, the swordsman made a particular impressive move and Sanji's heart sped up at the sight. It looked... amazing. Absolutely perfect, unbelievably powerful and... and better than anything Sanji was able to do.

The chef didn't have as much time to train as he used to... what if Zoro was moving to a place where Sanji couldn't reach him? What if their next match wouldn't end up in a tie and Sanji lost? What if he was going to lose the right to fight Zoro equally?

The thought made Sanji's heart clench. He had become so used to their competitions that he didn't even think about the possibility of losing against Zoro.

The swordsman, as annoying as he could be, had become an important part of Sanji's life... a part the chef didn't want to miss.

The shock of that revelation pulled Sanji out of his stupor and with wide eyes, he realised Zoro had stopped to move and... he was looking directly at him.

"S-Sanji..." the swordsman breathed and Sanji immediately blushed a bright red.

Cogs wheeled quickly inside his head as he recognised that sound, recognised that breathy whisper...

He had heard it before... that voice... that voice was... the _dream_! Sanji had heard it in the dream!

He remembered... he remembered a strong body draped over him and a coarse voice calling out... "_S-Sanji..." _

Sanji heart threatened to stop as he stared at Zoro. It couldn't be... he couldn't...

"Sanji, are you alright?"

The cook nearly jumped when Zoro's face was suddenly right in front of his own.

"I... food, I have food... Zeff said..." he stuttered, fighting down the blush as another flood of images invaded his mind and then he pressed Zoro's lunch into the swordsman's arms and ran out of the room, ignoring the green-haired man's confused calls.

What the _hell_ was wrong with him?

* * *

><p>Confused, Zoro looked at the small package inside his hands. To say Sanji had been acting strange would be an understatement... he had been bright red and looked at Zoro like he had suddenly grown six arms and three heads and... had Sanji been watching him?<p>

Zoro blushed as he imagined the cook's eyes following his body.

Shaking his head, he went to put his swords away and get the bokken. Class would be starting soon and he didn't need that kind of distraction right now... neither did he need to get up his hopes again.

How often had things like this happened now and Zoro had later found out that there was a reasonable explanation for everything?

Sighing, he put his swords back into his bag and looked up when he heard the first kids entering the dojo. He had a class to teach now.

* * *

><p>Sanji ran back to the Baratie, ignored the old fart's calls and went straight to his old room. He closed the door behind him and sat down on his bed, taking in the room that had been his home for so many years.<p>

Zeff had left it untouched so it would be ready should Sanji ever decide to come back home... he didn't look it, but his old man had a surprisingly soft heart.

Sanji's wandering gaze stopped at an old photograph of Zeff, Koshiro-san, Zoro and him, the latter two pulling at each other's hair and ignoring the camera while the adults laughed at 'their' boys' antics.

He stared at the green-haired, angry looking boy in the picture and Sanji couldn't believe it.

He couldn't believe that it was _Zoro,_ he had dreamed of all this time... for a whole year after Ace's party.

It was Zoro who had kissed him. Zoro who had moved above him.

Zoro... Sanji swallowed. It was Zoro who had turned him on... Sanji had become _hard_ while dreaming of _Zoro_!

Groaning, the cook let his upper body fall back down on the bed. He felt... sick.

Zoro was his _rival_, for Christ's sake! He couldn't feel... couldn't feel like _that_ about him, could he?

Draping an arm above his eyes, Sanji took a deep breath. It was just a dream... just a stupid dream. However real it might have felt, it didn't mean a _thing_.

Yes... yes. It didn't mean anything, nothing at all.

So what if Sanji had stared at Zoro just now? He was just analysing his techniques... there wasn't any kind of... of attraction between them, was there?

An image of Zoro's naked chest, coated with sweat invaded Sanji's mind once again and the cook felt his face flaring up, his heart pounding strongly in his chest.

Sanji closed his eyes and sighed.

What the hell was he going to tell Kaku?

* * *

><p>Two hours later, class was over and Zoro entered the Sunny while rubbing his eyes and stifling a yawn. As much as he loved teaching, instructing hyperactive kids never ceased to make him weary... their amount of energy was simply amazing.<p>

Zoro looked up when he saw someone standing in front of the elevator and groaned inwardly when he realised it was Kaku. _Great_, just what he needed...

Forcing a stiff smile on his face, he held up his hand in greeting. "Hello, Kaku."

"Hey, Zoro... finished with the dojo?"

"For today, yeah."

They stood in uncomfortable silence for a while and Zoro was certain Kaku wanted the elevator to arrive as fast as he did.

Feeling Kaku's eyes on him, Zoro turned and frowned. "What?" he asked.

"I... talked to Sanji yesterday," Kaku said hesitantly.

Zoro growled. "If you're starting to brag now..."

"I'm... I don't want to brag and I don't want to be an ass about it either, but... Zoro, I confessed to Sanji and... and he didn't reject me."

Zoro froze. He could barely breath. His heart seemed to have stopped beating.

It couldn't be true...

"That... that's not true," he said quietly.

"It is. He didn't give me an answer yet but he didn't reject me, so... I think I have... a chance," the other man said quietly.

Zoro didn't say anything. His mouth, his whole body seemed to have stopped working.

"Look, I... I'm sorry. I know you like him, too, but... well, I just thought you should know."

Kaku said something else but Zoro didn't hear him. He still stood there when the elevator arrived, the doors opened, Kaku stepped in and it closed in front of him again.

His mind was completely blank as he was left alone in the hall and forgot how to breath.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the city, a figure sat in a big armchair, staring mercilessly at his underling.<p>

"What do you want? You'd better not waste my time... If it is about that Roronoa Zoro again then-"

"I... sensei, I'm terribly sorry but it _is_ about Roronoa, we-"

"I told you to get rid of him on your own, didn't I? I've taught you all I cared for you to learn... if you can't even get rid of one obstacle then you're simply not worthy to be my student."

"But, Mihawk-sensei, it's... it's not about that."

"What is it then? Speak clearly, I don't want my time to be wasted."

"I... sensei, we... we saw Roronoa talking to your niece and-"

"And?"

"And, well... she... Perona-sama said that... she said that she was his mistress, sensei."

Silence fell and after a moment, Juraquille Mihawk stood up and went to his fireplace where his sword, his most precious possession was placed over the mantelpiece. Lovingly, his fingers wandered over the sharp blade.

"Mistress you say..." The tone of his voice was murderous.

"Th- Those were Perona-sama's words, sensei."

"Find out where he is. _Now_."

The underling bowed deeply and Mihawk's eyes flashed.

It seemed like it was finally time to meet that famous hunter himself...

* * *

><p>"How is he?" Luffy asked as Ace came out of his room.<p>

The freckled man shook his head. "Still not talking... he is just lying there."

Luffy looked sadly to the ground. It had been an hour since they had found Zoro standing forlorn in the hallway, staring wide-eyed and white as a sheet at the elevator. When Ace had asked him what the hell was wrong, he had simply said that Kaku had confessed and... he had cried.

That was the first time Luffy had ever seen the swordsman's tears... he had clung to Ace and they had brought him up to their apartment and tucked him into Ace's bed.

Since the moment he had told them about Kaku's confession, Zoro hadn't spoken any more... neither did he accept anything to eat or drink. He just... lay there. Even his tears had stopped long since and all that was left was an empty look.

Luffy stared at the closed door.

It couldn't go on like that any more... he couldn't bear to see his friend hurting like that.

"Ace, we should do something... talk to Sanji."

His brother shook his head. "I know it's hard, but... Zoro doesn't want that. He... doesn't want Sanji to know."

"But it can't go on like this! Zoro is... Zoro is one of my best friends! I don't want to see him like that!"

"Do you think I _like_ keeping quiet?" Ace asked angrily. "But it's his choice! We don't have the right to butt in!"

"I don't care! I'm going to talk to Sanji whether you like it or not!" Luffy said and with a determined look, he left the apartment and his troubled brother behind.

* * *

><p>Sanji leaned his head against the elevator's cool surface. His shift was finally over... in the aftermath of that confusing encounter earlier that day, Sanji had been distracted enough that it had affected his work. After he had gone back down, he had ignored Zeff's nagging and tried to concentrate but didn't seem to get anything done without making mistakes.<p>

In the end, Zeff had even kicked him out of the kitchen and told him to serve the costumers instead.

If the old man hadn't kicked him, Sanji would have gladly done so himself... he couldn't believe that his damn personal problems were affecting his work!

The elevator stopped at his floor and sighing, Sanji stepped out only to stop short when he saw Luffy sitting cross-legged in front of his door. "Luffy, what are you-"

"We have to talk."

The chef swallowed at the younger man's serious voice. The only occasion he had ever heard him use that tone was when Nami had been bullied by some punk called Arlong.

"Alright, come in then," Sanji said as Luffy stood up and the cook opened the door for them.

Luffy followed him inside and sat down in the living room.

When Sanji offered something to eat and Luffy _refused_, the chef immediately knew he was in deep shit.

"I have done something, haven't I?" Sanji asked. He took out one of his cigs, lit it and took a long drag. Something told him, he was going to need the toxic to calm his nerves.

"Yep, you did. Know what?" Luffy asked.

"I don't have the faintest..."

"Sanji, you're hurting Zoro."

Sanji frowned. Whatever he had expected, _that_ wasn't it. "I'm _hurting_ Zoro? We haven't fought in ages... how am I hurting him?"

"Not physically, Sanji. Emotionally. You're pretty mean to him."

Sanji blinked. Having a conversation about the very person who was responsible for his confusion was bad enough... but now he was being _mean_ to him?

"Luffy, the marimo and I have always..." He stopped shortly to reconsider his next words, but then said them anyway. "We have always hated each other. What makes you think that he suddenly cares what I-"

Luffy shook his head. "Zoro doesn't hate you. He likes you very much."

Now Sanji laughed. "That's ridicul-"

"_Don't you dare laugh!_" Luffy yelled, shocking Sanji with his outburst.

"Luffy, what the hell-"

"Zoro likes you and he is always hurt when you're mean to him. That's nothing to laugh about!"

The cook felt a headache approaching. The marimo liked him... _Right_. "Look, I've no idea what makes you think that he likes me, but even if he does, he wouldn't be hurt by me being mean."

Luffy shook his head again. "Zoro is hurt... he has been hurting for a very long time. He is always happy when you fight, though."

"He is hurt when I'm mean, but... happy when we fight?" Sanji asked, wondering where he had heard those words before.

Luffy nodded. "Yeah, and you're, too. Everyone says so... Kalifa, too."

Sanji stared at him.

Kalifa had said he looked happy when he... fought with Zoro? Kalifa had meant _Zoro_?

"Sanji, you alright? You look pale..."

Sanji didn't feel alright. He felt like he had been just hit by a truck... that sort of an impact did the revelation, he just had, have on him. It was _Zoro_ who looked happy whenever they fought... Kalifa had... had she left him because of _Zoro_ and not Kaku?

Sanji looked happy whenever he was fighting with _Zoro_?

"Sanji?"

The chef looked up and saw Luffy staring at him with concern. "Luffy, does Zoro... does Zoro just like me or...?"

The younger man looked at the floor. "He... you're hurting him, Sanji."

Sanji felt as if his stomach had left him somewhere in that conversation. Zoro felt like _that_ towards him? That was... that was just impossible! Never... never would Sanji have believed that...

And that kiss! He hadn't even considered Zoro to be a possible candidate... but now that he recalled that strong and hard body, now that the images of that afternoon and the memory of that dream were still that fresh inside his mind, it not only seemed possible... it even made sense!

Sanji did feel elated whenever he was able to spar with the swordsman... Zoro was his rival, his goal. While Sanji was still far from admitting to have feelings like _that_ for him, the swordsman did hold an important place in the blonde's heart and he could easily see why other people would think there was something deeper between them than rivalry.

And Zoro was hurt? He had been hurt whenever Sanji had been mean to him? _Every fucking time?_

"H-How long?" Sanji asked. His head was still spinning with that new information. "How long did he... like me?"

"Ten years... maybe longer."

Sanji stared at him. "Ten ye-... TEN _FUCKING_ YEARS? _FUCK!_"

"I wasn't sure if I should tell you, but Zoro had been... he had been so tired and worn out lately. Ace didn't want me to say anything, but I couldn't watch him hurting any more. Especially now, he is..." Luffy shook his head. "I think you can handle it, Sanji. I think you'll do the right thing. Whatever you're feeling for Zoro, I know you won't hurt him any more... now that you know."

Nodding, Sanji dropped down on his couch.

Zoro liked him and Sanji liked him as well, or... he was attracted to him at least.

And then there was Kaku... Kaku who had confessed and would meet him in the gym in about half an hour.

Sanji groaned. Had his life become a soap opera?

What would happen next? Would he find out Franky was his long lost brother? Would someone fall into a coma after Robin admitted to have an affair with Iceburg?

Sanji's lips twitched. Maybe he had some insanely rich relative who decided he should inherit all of his money or he was a prince from some small country...

"Sanji... you have a funny smile on your face."

"Call me Mr. Prince," Sanji said simply and took another drag from his cigarette.

At least he finally knew what to say to Kaku.

* * *

><p>Zoro walked slowly through the dark streets. Lonely drunks and other people who intended to make the night to day passed by, trying to avoid meeting the swordsman's haunted eyes.<p>

He could feel Kitetsu practically vibrating inside his bag, thirsting for blood thanks to his master's dark mood.

He had managed to sneak out after Ace had fallen asleep on the couch, had grabbed his swords and took off into the darkness.

Zoro would fight that night... fight and forget.

He didn't care what would happen to him, didn't care if he was to die a pointless death. He didn't even care about his dream any more.

Kuina would scold him... would probably even laugh about him and call Zoro weak, but... Kuina was dead, dead and buried.

He had lost his parents, his best friend and now it even felt as if he had lost Sanji as well... he had lost his angel.

His unrequited love had been bearable as long as he thought the blonde just didn't go for men, as long as it was simply bad luck that Sanji had been born as a straight man, but now... now all Zoro wanted was to forget this pain inside his chest... he just wanted to feel numb and empty.

Zoro walked into an alleyway when a deep voice called out to him.

"Roronoa Zoro?"

Zoro recognised the sound of that voice immediately and smirked.

Perfect timing.

* * *

><p>Rain drummed against the gym's windows and a small sliver of moonlight fell every now and then into the big room whenever the clouds decided to part for the big ball of light.<p>

Sanji and Kaku stood in the centre, not even hearing the steady sound of water hitting glass. Tension lay thick between them.

"Can you... give me a reason? When you didn't reject me in that café, I thought that... I thought I had a chance," Kaku said quietly, eyes glued to the ground.

Sanji looked sadly at him. "It's... complicated. Things have happened and... and I realised that I can't have a relationship with you. I'm sorry."

Kaku smiled wistfully. "It's okay, really... You thought about it and that's more than I could've hoped for. Do you... do you like someone else?"

Sanji turned and looked at the window, his eyes following a single raindrop sliding down the glass. "That's the question... hell if I know. I don't know what I'm feeling any more... everything is so damn fucked up!"

"You wouldn't tell me anything even if I asked, would you?"

Sanji shook his head. "It's better if you don't know."

"Right... guess that's it then," Kaku said defeated. "Could we... could we at least continue to train together?"

Sanji smiled. "Sure, I just realised I could need some more training, anyway."

The cook just wanted to lay a comforting hand on Kaku's shoulder when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps in front of the door. With a loud bang, the door opened and Usopp came bursting into the room.

"Sanji! It's Zoro!" he panted. "Zoro is... Zoro-"

Sanji stared at him and held up his hands, his heart speeding up at his friend's panic and the mentioning of Zoro's name. "Woah, Usopp, calm down! What's wrong? What has happened? What's with Zoro?"

Usopp looked as if he was about to cry. "He... Sanji, he fought against Mihawk and... it... it looks bad, Sanji. Really bad."

Silence fell and the raindrops' drumming seemed to be ten times louder as Sanji's mind processed Usopp's words.

And then he ran.

* * *

><p><em>Next time: Big showdown in the hospital and... Sanji tests a theory?<em>

_Thank you for reading and please review! :)_


	4. Chapter 4: Sanji proves a theory?

_The very last chapter... the author's note is rather lengthy this time because I have to explain a lot about your treats, so I choose to put it at the end. _

_After that evil cliffhanger, you'll probably want to read right away, anyway ;)_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece, neither the show nor the treasure._**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: <strong>**Big showdown in the hospital and... Sanji tests a theory?**

_With a loud bang, the door opened and Usopp came bursting into the room._

_"Sanji! It's Zoro!" he panted. "Zoro is... Zoro-"_

_Sanji stared at him and held up his hands, his heart speeding up at his friend's panic and the mentioning of Zoro's name. "Woah, Usopp, calm down! What's wrong? What happened? What's with Zoro?"_

_Usopp looked as if he was about to cry. "He... Sanji, he fought against Mihawk and... it... it looks bad, Sanji. Really bad."_

_Silence fell and the raindrops' drumming seemed to be ten times louder as Sanji's mind processed Usopp's words._

_And then he ran._

Sanji ran as fast as he could, rain soaking him to the bone as he crossed street after street. Horns honked when he was nearly run over by approaching cars but he barely heard them as his legs carried him closer and closer to the hospital. Sanji had been so desperate to get to Zoro that he hadn't even asked Usopp which hospital the swordsman had gotten submitted to, but somehow he knew it had to be the Water 7 General Hospital... he knew it had to be the place where Chopper was. Chopper had taken care of Zoro for years now and in Sanji's panicked mind, it made absolute sense that he had to be with him.

Rounding another corner and ignoring the angry screech of a drunkard, Sanji finally saw the familiar and high building of the hospital. Taking a few deep breaths, he sprinted towards the big doors, his heart thumping wildly in his chest with every step.

* * *

><p>Several heads turned to him as Sanji entered the waiting room. Robin, Nami, Franky, Luffy and Ace all stared at his drenched and panting form.<p>

"Wh-Where is he? I-Is he... will he be alright?" Sanji asked shakily, his voice not much more than raspy breaths. He hadn't even realised how cold he was until he had entered the warm building.

Ace walked up to him and put a burning hand on his shoulder. "He's undergoing surgery now. We don't know anything, yet... Chopper tries to find something out. Why don't you sit down? Did you run all the way here? Why didn't you come with Usopp in the car?"

Sanji shook his head. He hadn't even thought about that but even if he had, he still would have run through the rain. "Too long... would've taken too long..."

Ace nodded and led him to a chair but Sanji refused to sit down. "Chopper said the surgery could take hours..." the older man said urgently. "You should get some rest, Sanji."

Sanji shook his head again and looked at the clock, his eyes unblinking as they followed its fingers.

Ace sighed and stood up. With a quick tug on the blonde's elbow, he pulled Sanji in his arms. The chef stiffened at the sudden embrace. "It's gonna be alright. I know it will. Zoro is so strong... he won't be defeated by this."

Wrapping his arms around the other man, Sanji buried his head in Ace's shoulder and began to cry. Thick tears were soaked up by the fabric of Ace's shirt as Sanji shook and sobbed inside his arms.

The others watched them with sad smiles and as the hours went by, they were more and more certain that Zoro would pull through.

There was no way he would die just after Sanji had realised his feelings.

* * *

><p>Zoro's eyes opened slowly. His vision blurry at first, he saw nothing but white until his eyes went back into focus and he recognised the familiar ceiling.<p>

"Hospital... _great_," he muttered.

After frequent visits to this place, Zoro knew the interior too well... Every piece of furniture, every little detail of the room had been stared at for hours and hours already. Bored out of his mind whenever he had gotten hurt, the swordsman had done anything to pass the time... even playing 'I spy with my little eye' with Luffy.

Needless to say, he hated hospitals with a passion.

Zoro frowned when he suddenly realised the fingers on his right hand were trapped. Turning his head, he saw a blond mop of hair lying on the side of his bed. His heart throbbing violently, Zoro took in the warmth of Sanji's fingers around his own and stared.

The swordsman blushed as he realised how close the cook was. Did he... did he sat there the whole night, waiting for him to wake up? How long had he slept, anyway?

Tentatively, Zoro reached over with his free hand, winced slightly when the movement reminded him of his wound and touched a strand of blond hair.

"Angel..." Zoro whispered disbelievingly. His angel... _Sanji_ was there! The cook was holding his hand!

Then the head moved, a blue eye, covered by a few strands of golden hair, looked at him and Zoro's heart skipped a beat.

"You're... awake," the cook said and looked up, his hair parting to reveal a near anguished look. "Chopper said you would be alright, but... I thought that..."

With a jolt, Zoro realised he had tears inside his eyes.

"_Fuck_, I feel so stupid..." the blonde said while hiding his face with his free hand. "Bawling like this when I should know that you wouldn't be killed so easily, but... but..." The cook rubbed his wet face angrily and groaned. "So stupid..."

The swordsman felt a bit at a loss. Not only was Sanji by his side but he also seemed to be really _worried_ about him... not about how Robin and Nami would feel, but actually worried about _him. _Sanji _cared_... why... since when did he _care_?

"I... you're here," Zoro said rather stupidly. "You're actually here."

"Of course I'm here," Sanji returned. "Where else would I be?"

"Dunno... at home, out with... with someone or, or... anywhere but here!"

Sanji stared at him. "Are you really _that_ much of an idiot? Like I could be out somewhere when you're lying here... That reminds me: I should really go and tell the others. Only one was allowed to stay in here with you. They're still waiting in the waiting room."

Zoro was beginning to get a bit scared. This had to be... an illusion or something, right? Did he get some strange painkillers and was hallucinating? Sanji shouldn't _be_ there! Especially not... especially not when there were others who could have taken his place!

However, when Sanji wanted to stand up and his hand began to leave his fingers, Zoro couldn't help but hold on tight.

"Don't go," he whispered when Sanji looked down at him in surprise. Even to Zoro, his words sounded surprisingly young and childish. "Please stay for a bit."

The cook frowned but sat down again. Then he pressed a small button on the side of Zoro's bed and a bit later, a nurse came in.

"I'm really sorry for the inconvenience but would you be so kind to tell the doctor that my friend has woken up? And if it's not too much trouble... our friends are still waiting outside. Could you tell them as well?"

After she had left, Zoro looked at Sanji with disbelieving, tired eyes. "You're really staying..."

"Yes, I'll stay... and you should go back to sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up again," the cook said but Zoro was already drifting off.

He only felt long fingers caressing his hair and heard a few last, kind words before sleep claimed him again:

"_Zoro, I don't hate you... you know that, don't you?"_

* * *

><p>The next time Zoro woke up, he felt hot breath tickling his neck and blushed when he saw the cook snoring next to him. With not less embarrassment and wonder, the swordsman noticed Sanji was still holding his hand.<p>

"He has been here the whole night," a voice whispered to him and Zoro looked up to see the nurse from before standing next to his bed. She smiled kindly at him. "He was so worried... you really have a good friend there."

Zoro swallowed and looked at the snoring blonde. "Maybe... maybe I do."

After the nurse had excused herself, Zoro lightly tipped Sanji's head. "Sanji, you shouldn't sleep here... You'll catch a cold."

The blonde stirred and looked sleepily at him. "I... 've been sleep'n?" he asked, covered his mouth and yawned loudly. Zoro grinned when he noticed the imprint of his pillow on Sanji's cheek.

"Yeah... and you snored!"

The cook looked horrified. "I didn't!" he said and then looked around hectically. "Did that beautiful nurse see me?"

"Yeah, and she said you looked cute. Just like a baby."

Sanji groaned. "And there goes my reputation in the hospital... well, not that it matters any more."

Zoro raised his eyebrows. What was he meaning with- oh, yeah... _that_. Feeling his stomach sinking again, the swordsman asked, "Cook, shouldn't you be... somewhere else? Won't Kaku be angry if you're with me for such a long time?"

Sanji frowned. "Why should he be angry? What does that have to do with him?"

"Well, aren't you two... you know... together? He said that he confessed and-"

Sanji snorted. "Yeah, he confessed. But I rejected him just before Usopp came and told me about your... well, _accident_. Speaking of which: Smoker came sniffling around after he had heard about you being in the hospital. Iceburg-san took care of him, though... he said it was an accident while you trained."

Zoro tried hard to listen to the blonde but the first part had sent his mind reeling so much that the swordsman found it hard to concentrate. Sanji had rejected him... Sanji had rejected Kaku! And he was suddenly so nice to Zoro... _Why?_ Why now?

"Why did you reject Kaku? He told me you didn't do it when he confessed. Why did you think about it if... if you didn't want to be with him?"

Sanji averted his eyes and... was he blushing?

"That was... well, I was a bit confused when he confessed to me, but then Luffy... Luffy told me something interesting."

Zoro frowned. "Interesting? What?"

"Luffy told me your secret, marimo."

Paling at Sanji's words, Zoro looked down at his duvet and gulped. He had only one secret from the cook and that was... "No... no way! I... I..."

A squeeze of his hand made Zoro look at the blonde again. "You don't have to be that shocked," Sanji said quietly. "As angry as I am that you didn't tell me something important like that for such a long time... I _don't_ mind, Zoro. I don't mind that you like me. Actually, I want to apologise for being such an ass all this time. You didn't deserve to be treated like that... I'm sorry." His voice was honest and Sanji seemed to feel... embarrassed? _Guilty?_

"It... it's alright," Zoro said and closed his eyes, trying to calm his pounding heart. He felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "I'm at fault as well... I've always liked to make you angry," he admitted, his cheeks warming up in embarrassment.

Sanji grinned. "You did? Why?"

Feeling his face flaring up even more, Zoro looked down. "Well, it's... it's kinda hot."

When Sanji neither said anything nor laughed at his confession, Zoro looked up and was startled to see Sanji hiding his face with his hand. His ears were beet red.

After an awkward silence in which neither of them knew what to say, Sanji coughed. "Well, I... I guess you... you want an answer?"

"Answer?"

"Y-Your feelings," Sanji explained. "I mean... I didn't... answer you, yet."

"W-Well... yeah."

"The truth is... I think we should take our time with everything and... and start out as friends?"

Zoro couldn't believe what he had heard. "You aren't rejecting me either?"

"Well, no. I still don't know what the hell I'm really feeling right now, but... I don't want to reject you. I think we should try a new start and leave this whole relationship thing until you're better?"

"I would like that, yeah," Zoro answered.

He couldn't believe it... he couldn't believe his luck. Even if Sanji was only saying all this because Zoro was wounded, it still meant that he cared... it meant that he, Zoro, was important to him and... and even if they were only friends after all of this, it would still be enough for him. The swordsman had been so sure, Sanji hated him before that anything other than that, even platonic friendship, would make him happy. Zoro only wanted to stay by his side.

After a while in which they didn't say anything and Zoro only enjoyed the warmth of Sanji's hand, the cook looked down at their entwined fingers and cocked his head. "Know what I don't get? I've been thinking a lot about it while you slept, but..." He looked up at Zoro. "Why do you like me so much? I've been a complete ass all this time, so... why?"

Zoro smiled. That had to be the most difficult questions he could ask... "You know, I don't have a clue..."

"...eh?" Sanji exclaimed and Zoro grinned.

"Well, you're annoying as hell, a total priss about your clothes and an idiot whenever a skirt comes your way..." he started and held up his free hand when Sanji opened his mouth to say something. "But you're also very passionate about everything you do. Be it cooking, fighting or flirting, you're always giving one hundred percent and you do it with pride, so... I guess I'm mostly attracted to your spirit."

Sanji averted his eyes and pursed his lips. "And I thought it was my awesome body..." he said in a mock disappointed way.

"Nah, that's just a nice side effect..."

The blonde blushed while Zoro grinned.

"But do you know what _I_ don't get?" Zoro asked after the cook had regained a slightly more normal colour. "You've always been all over women, so why... why aren't you rejecting me?"

"I... well, I had a dream."

Zoro frowned. That was unexpected. "A dream?"

"Yeah, ever since Kalifa broke up with me, I dreamed about a night in the Baratie and... and there was a man... kissing and touching me."

Zoro's eyes widened. It couldn't be... it couldn't... "Wh... What did he do?"

"Well, he lay above me and... and I could _feel_ him through my clothes. Well, as much as you can feel in a dream, anyway," Sanji mumbled. "We were on the ground and touched each other, but I never saw his face. I only heard him breathing my name."

Zoro felt like his heart was about to stop. That sounded like the beginning of the night after Ace's birthday party when he... when they... Did Sanji _remember_?

"I never knew who he was until... until I brought you lunch, yesterday," Sanji went on. "You... breathed my name in the exact same way and, well..."

"That's why you ran away?"

"Yeah... I wasn't sure what to think any more. I mean, I just realised I had sex dreams about my livelong rival for a whole year! Well... and that made me thinking. My body had _reacted_ to the dream... to... to you and... and I guess I might not be as straight as I always thought," Sanji said, smirking.

Zoro looked down. His face was heating up. This all seemed too good to be true, but... but he still had a confession to make. "Sanji... that dream, that... maybe that wasn't really a dream."

Sanji frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, that night in the Baratie did actually happen. I... we slept together."

"We... _what?_" the blonde exclaimed and Zoro turned his head away from Sanji's disbelieving stare.

"That night after Ace's party when everyone had left and we stayed to keep drinking... you know, because you were so down and wanted to have this stupid contest. You drank too much and... and you came on to me."

"I... I did?" Sanji asked, shakily.

"Yeah. You said... you said you had heard Robin and Nami talking about me and that they thought, I was... well, attractive. And then you threw a fit, saying you were sick of women - just a sign of how drunk you really were, if you ask me - and you said you would just try to change to men and... well, you kissed me."

* * *

><p>Sanji's heart threatened to burst out of his chest. While Zoro kept talking about that night, images were flooding his head... some of the dreams he kept having and others... others he hadn't dreamed of yet but which were apparently part of his cloudy memory.<p>

"And we... slept together?" the cook asked slowly.

"Yeah, I... I tried to stop but you kept touching me and I couldn't resist! I... I'm sorry."

Sanji shook his head. It all made sense now. Now he knew why his back had hurt so much after that night. He had thought it was because he had slept on the floor, but apparently... Sanji blushed. Apparently, he had been the 'girl'.

And it explained why Zoro had been so angry at Sanji's lack of memory as well... when they had slept together, Zoro must have been hopeful but then... Sanji had just forgotten everything and was his normal, annoying self again. He must have been so hurt...

"It... It's not your fault," Sanji breathed out after he had collected his thoughts. "None of it is, so don't blame yourself. But _damn_! I can't believe I just forgot about my... well, my first time, I guess. But I think I remember a few things now..." He grinned. "You're rather good with your tongue, eh?"

The chef's grin widened when Zoro blushed at his words. "And you like to bite..." he went on. "I remember, I had bite marks on my neck after that day... I thought it was Luffy, though. You know how he gets when he is hungry."

Zoro hid his eyes with his hand. "Please stop talking about that..."

"Why? Didn't picture you to be the type to get embarrassed..."

"I'm not, but... if you keep reminding me of that night, I'll try to jump you and Chopper said he would kill me if I rip open my stitches again..."

Sanji swallowed. He could be such an idiot. "Sorry, I... I guess I should be more considerate."

Zoro shook his head. "Not really. I'm still surprised how well you're taking everything. I thought you would be disgusted or... or try to kick my ass once you found out."

"Oh, I will kick your ass once you're better, marimo. But not for liking me or even fucking me that night."

Zoro frowned. "Huh?"

"I'll kick your ass for getting hurt that badly in the first place!" the cook said angrily. "I didn't want to say anything yet, but... Damn, do you have any idea how worried I was? Fighting Mihawk in your current state... Just what the hell did you think you were doing? Were you suicidal or something?"

"Maybe I was..." Zoro said quietly and Sanji sucked in a breath.

"W-What?"

"I thought... I had lost you to Kaku and... you going out with women I can take, but not... not with another man. I felt utterly defeated and then... then I met Mihawk in that alley."

Taking deep breaths, Sanji said, "Zoro, tell me what happened."

And then the swordsman began to talk.

* * *

><p>"<em>Roronoa Zoro?"<em>

_Zoro smirked as he recognised the voice immediately... it was a voice that had haunted him ever since he had made a promise with Kuina... ever since he had found out who he had to beat to become the best: it was the voice of Juraquille Mihawk._

"_I'm surprised... I've been hunting you for years and now you come out?" Zoro said before turning around and looking into a pair of piercing eyes. "What's the occasion? Did I mess with your business too much?"_

"_What those I train do at night is none of my concern... neither do I care if they get hurt because they're too weak," Mihawk replied coldly._

"_Oh? Then you didn't tell them to rob innocent people?"_

"_That has nothing to do with me."_

"_And why are you here now if not for that?" Zoro asked._

"_One of my students told me something disturbing... it seems you know my niece quite well."_

_Zoro raised an eyebrow. "_Now _you begin to care about her? Don't you know Perona has been _attacked _by your men before?"_

_Mihawk's eyes turned to slits. "What?"_

"_They wanted to rob her and do god knows what else... I saved her. That's why she even began to follow me around. We're friends at most, nothing more."_

"_Is that true?"_

"_You can ask her if you want... maybe it would be a good idea to spend time with your family once in a while."_

"_That's hardly any of your concern."_

_Zoro smirked. "Exactly. So, why don't we do what you came here for? I've waited ages to fight you."_

"_You'll die, boy."_

"_We won't know until we fight."_

"_Very well, if that's what you want."_

* * *

><p>"And then I lost..." Zoro finished.<p>

"So he came after you because of his niece?" Sanji asked. "That Perona girl?"

"Yeah, but after our fight he said he believed me... He said that he felt my honesty in my swords and he would let me live because he thought I had potential..."

"Well, sounds like you'll get another fight once you're stronger."

Zoro smiled. "Yeah, that's what I hope. You wouldn't believe how strong he was..." he said excitedly. "There were _worlds_ between us."

Sanji grinned. "You're happy," he stated.

"Well, it showed me just how far I can go... how far I _have_ to go to reach his level! Isn't it great that I can still improve so much?"

The swordsman's joy was exhilarating and Sanji's face hurt from the big grin he was sporting by then. "That's just like you... being excited even though you almost died."

Zoro shook his head. "Don't act like you don't understand... My loss brought me closer to my goal. You know what I mean, don't you?"

Sanji did. It was the same for him whenever he fought Zoro. Whenever the cook thought he had finally found a way to defeat the swordsman or when he had found something that brought him closer to winning, he was indescribably happy.

"But you know what? Even though Mihawk said he would spare my life, it was a pretty close call..."

"Yeah, Chopper said you were pretty lucky."

Zoro shook his head. "No, it wasn't luck. I think... I had something of a guardian angel."

Sanji frowned and was about to ask what Zoro meant with that when the swordsman touched a strand of his blond hair and let it glide through his fingers. "An angel..." Zoro whispered and Sanji blushed.

"You... I think I've heard you say that before," Sanji said. "W-What's up with that?"

Zoro smiled. "It's something Koshiro-sensei told me when we visited my parents' grave. He said everyone has an angel protecting them and one would be out there for me as well... I met you only a few days later and... and I had seen pictures of blond angels before, so..."

"You mean... you thought I was..."

Zoro rubbed the back of his neck. "A bit sappy, isn't it?"

"Nah, but... unexpectedly cute," Sanji replied grinning and ruffled Zoro's hair.

"Oh, shut up!" the swordsman growled and pushed his hand away while Sanji laughed.

They continued talking like that for hours until Chopper came in and told the blonde that Zoro needed to sleep. Reluctantly, Sanji left the swordsman's side but not before promising he would be back as soon as he could.

* * *

><p>Several days later, Ace sat next to Zoro's bed, a pile of casino chips lying on a makeshift table between them. They were playing poker.<p>

"So, Sanji has come every day, huh?" Ace asked and sighed at yet another loss. Zoro's damn poker face gave nothing away...

"Yeah, we talked a lot. Made me realise that despite knowing each other for such a long time, we never really had a decent conversation before... we always ended up fighting and competing," the swordsman explained and then that damn bastard grinned as he pulled the whole pile of chips over to his side.

"And you're good now?" Ace asked with a sour look at his remaining three chips. "Isn't it... awkward? Now that he knows..."

"Well, it's a bit strange. Sometimes he looks so intensely at me as if he expects me to do something. But he said to wait until I'm getting discharged, so... did... did he say anything to you?"

Ace shook his head. "I've tried to pry a bit but he's like a closed book... I couldn't get anything out of him. Sorry, mate!"

"It's alright. I didn't expect you to... Damn, I'm just so nervous. What if I'm getting my hopes up for nothing again?"

"Well, at least he doesn't hurt you any more. And you should've seen him the night of your 'accident'. He had run the whole way here... even cried."

Zoro stared at him. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. I've never seen him like that... Whether he wants a relationship or not, I'm sure he cares a great deal for you. Would he keep coming here, otherwise?"

"I don't think so..." Zoro said slowly and then smiled brightly.

Ace had to grin at his friend's happiness. After so many years of neglect and sorrow, it felt like an oasis in the desert to see Zoro looking like that.

"Hey, I forgot to ask: What about Marco?" the swordsman suddenly said. "Did he win the tournament?"

Now it was Ace's turn to grin. "What do you think? 'Course he won! And you wouldn't believe the night we had afterwards... But you know Portgas D. Ace is not the kinda guy who kisses and tells."

Zoro snorted. "No, he's the sort who _fucks_ and tells. And now spill the beans! I'm bored out of my mind here..."

"You know me too well... " Ace said, sighing.

He just wanted to start talking when a knock at the door made them turn their heads. Luffy came in, licking happily at a big lollipop.

Ace scowled at his brother. "Luffy, I told you to get something for _Zoro_ and not you."

"Shishishi, I thought we could share... Wanna have a lick, Zoro?" Luffy asked, holding the spit coated sweet right in front of Zoro's face.

The swordsman grimaced. "No thanks, I'll pass."

"Oh, good! More for me then," Luffy said before his brother hit him on the head. "Ouch! Why did you hit me, Ace?"

"Because you're an idiot! You knew he wouldn't want anything like that!"

Luffy pouted. "It's his fault," he mumbled while rubbing his head. "Sanji always makes him delicious things to eat... and when I say I want something too, I only get kicked."

"Because you deserve it!" Ace said. Then he frowned and looked at Zoro who grinned sheepishly. "Wait... Really? Sanji brings you lunch?"

"And breakfast. And dinner," Luffy said before Zoro could say anything. "He even makes him love bentou!"

Zoro bristled. "He doesn't make me love bentou!"

"Does too!"

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"Does not!"

"Does to-"

"Oh, will you guys stop it? I feel like a responsible adult compared to you and it's making my head hurt..." Ace said.

Pouting, Luffy and Zoro looked in opposite directions while Ace made a mental note to tease Sanji about his 'love bentou' later...

That childish thought was enough to make his head better.

* * *

><p>"For the last time: I might me injured, but you won't get me into one of your damn costumes! A no is a no, Perona!"<p>

A bit more than a week after that terrible night, the crazy goth girl had come by to _apologise _for her uncle's overprotective behaviour... with a collection of countless embarrassing costumes.

"You're such a spoilsport!" Perona said. "What's wrong with a bit of cosplay? You are bored, aren't you?"

"I'll never be bored enough to wear a costume of Winnie the Pooh!" Zoro exclaimed while he stared disgustedly at the offending item in her hands.

"Alright, alright! Geez... I thought I finally got you. And what about Tigger? You really look a bit like a tiger..."

Zoro gritted his teeth and Perona, who had apparently sensed the danger, put away her costumes and changed the topic. "Oh, you know what? After he nearly cut you in two, uncle Mihawk called me and said he would take me to an amusement park! Isn't that great? I heard it even has a haunted house! Think there will be rotten corpses? I _hope_ there will be rotten corpses!"

Knowing the girl quite well by then, Zoro asked, "Perona... you know they don't use real bodies, don't you?"

Perona stared at him. "But... where would be the fun in that?"

Zoro chose not to reply to that.

"Oh! And uncle Mihawk said he has punished those guys who have attacked me before... he apologised and even wants to spend more time with me now! The amusement park is just the beginning..."

"I feel bad for him..." Zoro muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Perona asked.

"Nothing... "

"By the way, I'm supposed to tell you that uncle gives us his blessings. I think he likes you... maybe he will even pay for our wedding..."

"_...What?_"

"I think I should wear black... I hate white. Do you think we can marry in a cemetery?"

"..."

"Zoro, why are you glaring like that?"

A few minutes later, Perona was thrown out of Zoro's room and the swordsman had to listen to Chopper's lecture because he had reopened a few of his stitches.

It had never been more worth it.

* * *

><p>During his stay in the hospital, Zoro had had quite a few of these strange visitors... Iceburg-san and Kalifa had come by after a week and a half. That damn pet mouse Tyrannosaurus stole the cheese from his breakfast and the blond secretary accused him of sexual harassment when Zoro said they had to go out because Chopper wanted to change his bandages.<p>

Then shortly after, he had been visited by Paulie, Lulu, Tyleston and Lucci. Tyleston had soon been thrown out by the head nurse (he was talking too loud) and Lucci... according to Paulie, Lucci had met up with Trafalgar Law and it seemed as if they had done some strange business.

Remembering his pink-haired stalker saying something about Law being involved with the Mafia, Zoro decided it was better not to pry and intended to let Chopper check if all of his organs were still in place before he got discharged.

But among all of those strange visits, the yet strangest one had to be Kaku...

"Hey, Zoro! How are you doing? Healing well?" the shipwright asked after he had closed the door behind him.

Zoro frowned. "I do, but I didn't expect you of all people to come here... Do I have to be worried?"

"Nah, I've stopped wanting to kill you two days ago... I'm okay now. Still hate you, though," Kaku said, grinning.

"Well, I don't think we'll ever be friends," Zoro replied, chuckling. "Koshiro-sensei told me something interesting, though. He said someone had replaced me one day after my _'accident' _and taught the junior class in my stead. Among some curious sword moves, the kids ended up using _kicks_ to fight... You don't happen to know anything about that, do you?"

"Not a thing," Kaku answered, smiling.

"And you're sure, you're fine with everything?" Zoro asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I still like Sanji and all, but... when he ran out after Usopp told him what had happened to you... well, I knew I had lost completely. I could never win against your love, Zoro."

Zoro blushed. "Damn... aren't you embarrassed to phrase it like that?"

"Too sappy?"

"Big time."

Kaku shrugged. "I've always been told I was a bit... dramatic. Jabra is always going on about that..."

"Jabra, eh? You sure, you don't like him? You guys seem pretty close..."

The shipwright's eyes widened. "Don't be ridiculous! That guy is a complete ass! And we always fight all over the... hey, what are you grinning about?"

"Oh, nothing... I just thought I've heard that before..."

* * *

><p>On the day of Zoro's discharge, Luffy and Ace decided to pay their friend one last visit to see if they could help him with anything. They weren't surprised to find Sanji by Zoro's side when they entered the room.<p>

"That one counted! It was a clear hit!" Sanji said indignantly, pointing at the bin.

"It bounced off wall before it fell into the bin! That didn't count!" Zoro yelled back.

"What the hell, Zoro! Just admit that you lost!"

"I didn't lose, shitcook! We said it had to land _into_ the bin!"

"And it did! You never said it couldn't bounce off of something!"

"Well, I _meant_ it! Are you an idiot?"

"I only see one idiot here and that's not-"

Ace coughed and his friends' heads turned simultaneously to look at him. "Are we interrupting something?"

"Nah, this bastard here just thought he could cheat," Sanji said, pointing at Zoro.

"I didn't cheat! I would never cheat, you damn-"

Ace held up his hands. "Please stop fighting... What's wrong? You're back to screeching harpies again."

"We aren't harpies!" Sanji and Zoro yelled together.

Ace shook his head and smiled. "Some things never change, I guess..."

"Shishishi, they're funny, though," Luffy said. Then he took one of the paper balls, Sanji and Zoro had been throwing, and landed a clear hit. "I won!" he said and Sanji and Zoro turned angrily to him.

"_You didn't! I did!" _they yelled together and then turned to each other again. "_What?"_

Ace grinned and took a seat to enjoy the show. Those two were an idiot couple if there ever was one.

* * *

><p>"I can carry that, you know?" Zoro said two hours later as they walked through the Sunny's entrance. Ace and Luffy had to visit their grandpa, so Zoro and Sanji were on their own again.<p>

The cook shook his head and readjusted the bag on his shoulder. "Don't be stupid. Chopper said to take it easy for another week..."

"My wounds have closed ages ago, cook."

"Yeah, but you're still an invalid until Chopper says otherwise. Come on, now."

They entered the elevator and Sanji pressed the button to Zoro's floor.

As the elevator started to move, Sanji fumbled nervously with the handles of Zoro's bag. This was it... this was the moment, the cook had played over and over inside his mind. This was the moment he was finally going to answer Zoro's feelings.

Taking heart, the blonde set the bag down to the floor and slammed his hand on the red 'stop' button. The elevator stopped moving with a sudden jerk.

Zoro stared at him after he had regained his footing again. "What the hell are you doing, shitcook? If you want to fight now-"

Sanji snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. How can you even think about that now? I already told you, you're an invalid, didn't I? No, I'm planning to do something else..." he said. Then the chef strolled over to Zoro and noticed with glee how the swordsman backed away until his back was flush against the wall.

"If this is some sort of sick joke, then-"

"What do you take me for? I'm not that cruel..." Sanji said quietly. His face was now mere inches away from the marimo's and involuntarily, his eyes dropped down to the swordsman's lips. "No, I'm just proving a theory," he breathed and then Sanji closed the gap.

Pressing his lips to Zoro's, he used the swordsman's surprise to his advantage and took hold of his wrists, pushing them up against the wall on either side of his head, pressing his body against him and nipping at his lips.

It felt... _God_, it felt so good! Exactly like that one time when everything had started... and so, _so_ much better! Zoro responded at once, his tongue seeking entrance to Sanji's mouth and soon beginning a fight with his own.

While Sanji had been sure that it was Zoro who had kissed him in the end, he still needed this for absolute proof.

His hold on Zoro loosened as the kiss went on and he soon let go of his wrists completely to throw his arms around the swordsman's neck. Zoro put his hands on Sanji's hips, fingers seeking a way under the blonde's shirt and Sanji moaned as they found bare skin and began to caress sensitive flesh.

"Damn you..." Sanji whispered against Zoro's lips and then kissed him again, his tongue pushing back inside. He was delighted to feel Zoro shiver as Sanji lightly bit his underlip.

The hand under Sanji's shirt left his hot skin and was suddenly pressing against his chest, gently pushing the cook away so their upper bodies were parted.

"W-What?" Sanji asked breathlessly.

"We... we have to stop, Sanji," Zoro replied. His face was flushed, his lips kept parting to let out shallow breaths.

"Why?"

The swordsman looked down and said quietly, "... can't you feel it?"

Sanji frowned, his mind not yet processing what Zoro meant. But then the swordsman moved and the cook felt something hard sliding against his thigh. "O-Oh..."

Zoro buried his head in the crook of Sanji's neck. "I don't know what brought this on, but... you're driving me crazy."

Sanji grinned. "Aren't I always?"

"Not like this... well, mostly not like this," Zoro returned.

After a short pause in which only their heavy breathing was heard, Sanji said absent-mindedly, "So, it really _was_ you..."

"What?"

"During the blackout, when the elevator stopped and the lights went out... you pushed me up against the wall and kissed me, exactly like I've done just now..."

"Well... yeah."

Sanji sighed. "Do you have any idea what I went through after that? I racked my brain who it could have been... I didn't even consider you! I thought it was Kaku..."

Zoro looked up at him and frowned. "Kaku? Seriously?"

"Yeah, that's why I didn't reject him when he confessed. The kiss, it was... damn, I've never felt anything like that before. Well, I thought I didn't... turned out we've already done all of this, after all." Sanji chuckled. "I didn't even have the dream any more, until you kissed me... Seems like it worked like a jump-start. I guess my subconsciousness wanted to tell me, I forgot something really important..."

"Then... does that mean...?" Zoro stuttered.

"Yeah, this is my answer to you, marimo," Sanji said and then he kissed him again.

* * *

><p>Sheets lay in disarray, half hiding the happy couple's panting forms. Zoro hadn't moved ever since they had come undone but his heart was beating fast enough that the cook could feel it against his chest while he was held close by the swordsman.<p>

"What's wrong?" Sanji asked quietly when his lover made no sign of calming down. Zoro was still hurt... had it been too soon for them to do this?

Zoro buried his head in Sanji's blond hair and breathed in deeply. "Nothing is wrong..." he whispered, his lips brushing against the cook's neck with every word. "Everything is fine. I just... I just need a minute to calm down. I feel like my heart is about to explode."

Sanji blushed and looked up at the ceiling. Slowly, he closed his eyes, his own heart beating rapidly as he tried to catch his breath. "I know what you mean. I feel the same way."

After a while, Zoro began to kiss Sanji's shoulder lazily. "I never thought I would ever be this happy..." he said quietly. "This is like a dream."

Sanji chuckled. "You're surprisingly romantic."

"I've to be," Zoro replied. "How else am I supposed to date such a sap?"

"Oi!" Sanji exclaimed indignantly and turned his back to Zoro. The swordsman didn't lose any time and hugged him from behind.

Sanji grinned as he felt Zoro's hard body against his back. It should be forbidden to feel this right...

"There is only one thing missing for this to be perfect..." the cook said quietly.

"And that is?"

"Well, I wish I would remember everything from Ace's party... It was sort of my first time and all."

Zoro sighed, his hot breath tickling Sanji's neck. "If I had known how drunk you really were, then I never would've given in, but... I didn't think you would forget. It had never happened to me, so..."

"Well, marimo... you're a bit of a monster in that regard."

"Oi!"

"It's true, isn't it? You can drink barrels of beer without even getting tipsy..."

"I've never done that!"

"Only because no one would ever pay for you."

"... true enough," Zoro said and Sanji swore the swordsman was pouting.

After a bit, Sanji covered the hand on his naked torso with his own and said, "But... you know what?"

"What?" Zoro asked.

"In matters of stamina, I've sort of beaten you today. You came first..." Sanji said grinning.

Zoro snorted. "I didn't know that was a contest. Although..." He pulled Sanji's body even closer against his chest. "... if that's what I get for losing against you, then I really don't mind." One of his hands wandered down and Sanji gasped as it found its goal. "Up for another round? I wanna lose again," Zoro said, grinning cheekily.

"Oh, shut up, you idiot," Sanji replied with no real malice.

"Why are you that obsessed with beating me, anyway?"

"Because you're my goal, Zoro..." Sanji said. Squeezing Zoro's hand, he smiled. " You're my goal and I've finally reached you."

The blonde turned around in Zoro's arms and the swordsman smiled gently as he leaned down.

For the hundredths time that night, their lips met and they kissed in the dark.

**The End**

* * *

><p><em>And with that it's finished... for now ;)<em>

_Now to your treats: I'm going to write more about this world. _

_There will be at least one smutty one-shot (that night after Ace's birthday party) and not only one but TWO sequels._

_One is going to explore Sanji and Zoro's relationship some more as well as will be about Krieg wanting to get revenge from Iceburg and the other one will be some sort of special project... and I'll need your help for that._

_strike_

_I want you to give me prompts and with those prompts, I'm going to write chapters... one chapter for each prompt, but everyone is only allowed to post ONE prompt. In other words: You post a prompt and will get a chapter in return. _

_In the end we'll have a sort of compilation of One-Shots, all set in the Sunny apartment building. That means, of course, the more people post prompts, the more chapters there will be in the end._

_The whole idea is about me getting some more writing experience and avoiding writer's block (prompts are wonderful for that!) and about you getting to know more about what happens in the Sunny behind closed doors. _

_Prompts can be anything, really... a list of persons you want to be in your chapter (you can choose anyone from the manga, even those who weren't in the story so far), a pairing (either the ones already mentioned: Zoro/Sanji (Duh!), Franky/Robin or Marco/Ace or other pairings who don't clash with the existing ones) or a prompt can be just some word like 'tree', 'book' or anything... you can also tell me the overall mood: happy, sad, funny..._

_The only restriction is that I don't want you to tell me exactly what's supposed to be in it, because that would just end up killing my imagination._

_So, just pointers of what a direction your chapter is supposed to have :)_

_Oh, and you can tell me the rating as well! The whole thing will be M rated to be safe, but you can tell me if your chapter is supposed to be smutty or not. _

_Example: _

_Prompt: Bananaboat_

_Pairing / Characters: Zoro/Sanji_

_Overly mood / feeling: angry_

_Sex: HELL YES! _

_(As sexy as a bananaboat is... please don't choose this as your prompt! XDD)_

_Already existing pairings: Zoro/Sanji, Franky/Robin, Marco/Ace_

_You also don't have to fill every category... only the prompt is obligatory._

_I have no idea how much of a response this will get, but I do hope to get a few prompts together. You can also post prompts if you aren't registered but please be honest and post only one! If there are many unregistered ones I might have to fulfil those of registered users and those who have reviewed before first, so if possible, please log in!_

_Deadline is the Tuesday after Easter, at midnight the 10th April 2012 CEST._

_And now I'll hide in a corner, close my eyes and pray that there will be a few interested and I'm not making a complete ass out of myself right now :P  
><em>

_**THE DEADLINE IS OVER. NO PROMPTS ARE GETTING ACCEPTED ANY MORE!**_

_Thank you very much for reading, reviewing, faving and overall being awesome! I had a lot of fun writing this little story and hope to see you again in the future!_

_Seven-Bridges_


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